Destiny: House of Devils
by Zazikel10
Summary: "You've been gone for a long time and I've spent almost as long looking for you."
1. Again

_The opening for Book 1 is _"_**Again" by Yui**__(yes the FMAB one)_

* * *

_Again_

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He woke with a start, gasping desperately for breath. His heart felt like it was trying to get out of his chest and run away in a panic. Every nerve firing on full throttle and every muscle seemed to be shocked to life.

"Calm down and breathe. You're alright. " a slightly buzzing disembodied voice said to him. But he was too busy trying to bring his heart rate down to investigate.

Once he finally did, he sat up in the dry scratchy grass and used the edge of a rusty metal object to shakily pick himself up. When his head reached a window, he looked inside and looking back at him was a corpse picked clean to the bone and its jaw was wide open in an eternally silent scream. He jumped back, startled by the gruesome sight, his heart picking up again. Only then did he notice that the rusty object was a car. And then only after that did he notice that the area was littered with them.

In the way they were arranged, he deduced that they were trying to get far away from something and whatever it was, it found them way too quickly. They died on the spot.

"How are you feeling?"

Again, that same voice. Suddenly a white ball flew in front of his face, jerking him from his shock at the scenery. "Feeling better?" The voice again. But this time, it came from the four pointed floating object with a glowing blue blinking "eye" in front of him.

"Um. Y-yeah." He answered in a dry raspy voice.

"Good to know. C'mon we need to move. I didn't bring you back to life just for you to die again." it said.

His still racing mind took a few seconds to register what the object just said. "Wait, wha-?"

"No time." the object interrupted. "We need to move now. I have to get you back to the City. Let's head for the wall." and with that, the object disappeared in a small blink of light.

"Wait!" he yelled, reaching out for it. That's when he noticed his hands wrapped in gloves, black leather like but somehow he knew they weren't. The rest of his body was covered in a simple white garment and he noticed his head inside some sort of helmet. He hadn't the slightest idea where the outfit came from or what happened to his original clothes.

"You see that wall over there?" he heard the voice again. This time it seemed like it was inside his head. "Well head there. I've located a small transport ship still giving off a signal. Maybe we can use it to get you out of here."

"Where are you?" he asked. "

Run and talk, my friend." it replied. He did as he was told, breaking into a jog. "And I'm a Ghost. You've been gone for a long time and I've spent almost as long looking for you. Any question you have, I can answer when we get you to safety."

After about a minute of running, he made it into the small hole inside the wall and up a staircase into a room that was pitch black. In the same blink of light from before, the Ghost reappeared, wrapped in a bubble of light. "Let's find a light source for you before you fall over a ledge." the Ghost said and it flew off. After a few seconds in silence, darkness and lack of movement to avoid ledges, he heard a loud crack and blinding overhead lights started to come on one by one.

But even louder than the lights was another sound, a sort of growl. He didn't know what it was but whatever it was, it was alive, it was getting closer and it had friends.

"THE FALLEN!" he heard the Ghost yell as it flew back towards him.

"THE WHAT?!" he asked in panic. Suddenly a door behind him opened, revealing a small room with some sort of rifle leaning against a large metal box.

"Grab the gun. Looks like we're fighting our way outta here. Hope you know how to use that thing." The Ghost said. Hesitantly he aimed the gun and with that, finally got a good look at "The Fallen" as the Ghost called them.

There were about 5 of them. 3 of them were slightly shorter than him, covered in patchy black metal armor with a red helmet. Two arms holding 3 fingers each, with two stubs wrapped in dirty white bandages under them. The other two were a bit more frightening. They were hunched over but he could tell they were easily taller and stronger than him. White and red armor with horns on their heads and unlike the other three, 4 long arms each with its own set of wickedly sharp claws. All of the Fallen equipped with rifles. All of the rifles aimed at him. He ducked behind a metal crate just as a bolt of light came from one of the rifles, barely missing his head and splashing against the wall behind him.

"What the hell are those things?!" he yelled.

"Fallen. Nasty motherfuckers. They've taken this entire area for themselves. We're sort of trespassing." The Ghost replied. "The two armed ones are called Dregs and their much bigger friends are called Vandals. If we want to get out, we gotta break through them." And after another moment's hesitation, he started to fire back. Squeezing the trigger, the old rifle sprung to life. One lucky shot hit the closest Dreg in the head, leaving on a steaming, bubbling hole behind with a misty light escaping from said hole. He had cleared the room of all but one Dreg. He aimed the gun and pulled the trigger and the gun clicked empty. And to make matters worse, the Dreg heard the click.

Unsheathing a glowing dagger and with a loud screech, it charged and swiped at him. He jumped away just narrowly and fell over on his back. The Dreg started to move slowly toward him while he scrambled backwards. "No." he barely whispered as the creature picked up speed. "Get away!" he said a little louder, barely able to breathe out of fear.

Naturally, it didn't listen. The Dreg jumped at him, knife aimed for his throat, victory screech already building up in its throat.

"I said GET BACK!" he yelled more defiantly, sticking his hand out to try and hold the murderous creature back. There was a sudden, small rush of wind, a flash of violet light and the sound of a hard impact.

The Dreg suddenly flew backwards, glowing violet and fading before it could hit the ground. "That was Void energy. How did you know how to do that?" his Ghost said surprised.

The man, frozen in the same position with his hand still out, snapped out of his shock and yelled, "What just happened?! What did I do?" trying to calm down.

"Never mind. C'mon, keep moving. Pick up your gun." the Ghost said dismissively.

"Hate to say it but, its empty." he told the Ghost. "

Oh yeah." it replied. With that, it flew over corpses and returned back to him in a blink of light. "Check your hand." he heard inside his helmet. Incredulously, he obeyed, visibly surprised even through his masked face to find a full magazine inside his hand.

"How did you do that?" he asked his Ghost as he refilled his gun. "I took what available ammo the Fallen had and transmuted it to match your weapon." it explained in a slightly annoyed tone of voice as if it had to explain one plus one to a grown, able minded man. Slightly irritated at the machine's tone, they continued on.

The journey took about 15 minutes with small patrols of Fallen in the way, each who were quickly cut down, until they reached their destination, a room with a ship hanging from the ceiling. "Damn they really picked it apart." the man said.

"Let's hope it'll fly, this was the only plan I could put together to get us out. Why and how did this even get here? It slightly predates the Collapse." At this point, the Ghost was talking to itself as it appeared in a blink and started firing some kind of light from its eye into the ship's wiring.

"Even if it does fly, do I want to be in it?" The young man asked. After a few minutes of the Ghost doing...whatever, he heard the ship start to power on.

"Got it! It won't break orbit but for right now, but it doesn't need to. Let's get the hell out." With that, there was a loud roar. "Fallen!" his Ghost said, "Pulling you in. Let's go." Suddenly and for a small second, he felt himself go weightless and the world around him disappeared. Replacing it were dusty computer screens and other mechanisms to work the ship. He looked through the window, seeing what looked like a Vandal, only much, much bigger, dwarfing the actual Vandals that had accompanied the monster. To his relief, it didn't get any closer to the moving ship. The monster got smaller as the ship moved higher into the air and soon disappeared from sight as the ship took off. Despite their increasing distance from it, he could still hear its roar, daring him to come back.

After a few minutes, his Ghost told him, "It should take us about a couple of hours to reach the city. I can answer any question you want me too. But before we do, we both need names." interrupting him as he opened his mouth.

"Alright then." he replied. Not the strangest thing he's heard all day. "Got anything in mind?" he asked the Ghost.

"Well actually, yes. When I found your body, there was a piece of cloth wrapped around your femur. The ink had faded but I scanned it and the writing came out into 2 names. Arochukwu and Kain. Maybe I'm just being suspicious but it looked like it was put there deliberately. But even then, its been there for a very long time." In a blink of light, a dirty white piece of cloth appeared in front of the man, falling into his open hand.

The Ghost was right. It looked pretty old and most of the writing had faded. But he could just make out certain letters that corresponded with the names the Ghost had discovered. "How about I be Arochukwu?" The man said, "Yeah. That sounds perfect. Rolls off the tongue too. Arochukwu. Aro for short. It's from a West African language, called Igbo. "Aro" means Spear and "Chukwu" means God. Arochukwu. Spear of God." his Ghost explained, "So I guess it fits. That ability you used back there takes most Guardians weeks of training. So you're obviously pretty naturally talented. But what I don't understand is why that cloth was tied to you or who put it there. What do does two names mean to you?" the Ghost wondered.

"Something about both names does seem extremely familiar. Especially Arochukwu. Is it possible that it might have been my name before…whatever happened to me?" the man asked.

"If it was, you should have no memory of it," was the Ghost's answer. Aro looked down at his hands, disappointed. "I don't get it either." The Ghost continued. "But I just brought you back to life. We're long past wondering what is or isn't possible. Now you give me a name." his Ghost said.

"How about Kain?" Aro said.

"That's the second name. Why Kain though? Does it also seem familiar too?" the Ghost asked.

"Just like Arochukwu. It's like I knew a "Kain". If you don't like it, we can think of something else."

"No its fine. I kind of like it. Sounds intimidating." it said, causing Aro down expression to brighten a bit. "Well then it's nice to finally meet you. I'm your Ghost, Kain." His Ghost mock formally introducing itself. "Arochukwu but please call me Aro." Aro chuckled, "Now that we have names out of the way, let's talk..."

_This is my first story so I'd really appreciate the feedback. Thanks for reading!_


	2. Arochukwu and Kain

_Arochukwu and Kain_

"Alright, first things first, what is a Guardian?" Aro started.

"Guardians are many things. Soldiers, Explorers, Scientists, Scholars. They are people infused with the Light to be used as weapons in Earth's defense." Kain answered.

"And I'm now one of them? Against my will, I might add." Aro asked.

"Yes and yes." his Ghost replied. "Each Guardian is put into one of three classes. The Hunter Regiment, who are mostly out in the fields, providing reconnaissance and information. The Titan Corps are our main fighting force as well as our main defense. They maintain the walls as well as coordinate strikes against our enemies for strategic battles and locations. Warlocks fulfill the "scholars and scientists" parts I mentioned before. They study the Light as well as any life forms we encounter on other planets."

Aro was silent for a moment and then asked, "So which class am I?"

"Normally there is an aptitude test for which class a Guardian would do best in. But after what occurred back there against the Fallen, your class may have already been decided."

Aro's face showed his confusion.

"When the Dreg was about to pounce and you, um, stuck out your hand and blew it up?" Kain continued. "That's an ability mostly used by the Warlocks. Utilizing Light to change your very will into a physics-defying weapon. Hunters can do the same but utilize tools and Titans just wield their Light in their fists. That ability you used at the level you used it takes weeks of training. Once we show this to the Vanguard, they would be stupid to put you in any other class."

"Warlock huh? So I guess most of my time will be spent inside a lab? Good. I can go the rest of my life without seeing another one of those monsters." Aro said.

"Yeaah, don't get hopeful. You're a soldier just as much as you are a scientist and a scholar." Kain said.

"So what are you? What are "Ghosts" and what can they do?" Aro then asked.

"Well almost anything. We are artificial intelligence created the Traveler itself. Artificial intelligence so advanced, we apparently developed our own personalities. I can communicate with machinery, translate your brainwaves and read your mind, allowing us to communicate in the heat of battle, heal your wounds and if your physical body is destroyed, house your mind and teleport your physical body to safety until I can fix it." Kain rattled off with pride.

"So I'm immortal now?" Aro said, getting a bit excited by the idea.

"Well not really. You could still catch some incurable disease, you will still age albeit much slower, and there will be some situations where the Light in you and me is drained. Then you'll be gone for good. It happens to the best of us." Kain said solemnly.

"You keep mentioning this "Light" thing but you haven't exactly mentioned what it is." Aro pointed out.

"The Light just…is. It's hard to explain honestly, even for me. It's the driving force behind nearly everything from basic survival to sentient civilization. Everything you can do and everything I can do comes from an infusion of Light stronger than anyone else in the observable universe." Kain answered.

"And this Traveler produces it?" Aro questioned.

"We're not sure yet. All we know is that it saved humanity from the brink of destruction and continues to protect us as well. It created the Ghosts and gave us each our own personalities. It brought rain to Mars and tripled human lifespan. We… I mean you dominated the Sol System." Kain continued. "We remember it as the Golden Age."

"Then everything went to shit?" Aro guessed.

"Exactly. An entity we call the Darkness followed the Traveler here. And it brought on army. The Fallen are just a small part of it. Everything the Light is, the Darkness is the complete opposite. Light is survival and life. Love and happiness. The Darkness is senseless death and destruction. The Darkness has touched the Earth six times in its 3 billion year history. And each time, most of the creatures alive were wiped out. The most recent caused the rampant destruction you see below us." Kain confirmed.

Aro looked out of the glass down below at the destroyed skyscrapers and old dead cars on the roads. A closer look showed Fallen moving through the area, jumping over cars, some pausing to scowl at the ship flying above their heads. One was gnawing on a large bone. A human femur. "The Fallen. Who are they? What are they?" he asked as he silently shuddered at the memory of the Dregs and Vandals.

"The Fallen are an incredibly dark race that collectively gave themselves over to the Darkness in exchange for immeasurable power." Kain replied. "They're like an infestation. They've all but taken over Earth and even then still want the Moon and Venus for themselves. The Cabal keep them off Mars; blowing their ships out of the sky before they even get to land."

Aro nodded in understanding, beckoning Kain to continue. "You've already met the Dregs and the Vandals but they didn't take over Earth with just those two kinds. There are Shanks, little flying mechs that have a nasty and effective habit of ganging up on you. There are the Servitors, powered by ether, their life substance and Void energy. Seeing a Servitors automatically means the battle isn't going to go as easy as you originally thought. They make the Fallen stronger. We still don't know how. But the Fallen see them as their gods and overlords. Then there are the Archons, incredibly powerful soldiers and the Kells, who are basically Fallen commanders. We theorize that successfully killing one would throw a Fallen clan into chaos."

"You theorize?" Aro asked. "Yep. Theorize. No one who's faced a Kell or even an Archon has come back to talk about it, Ghost or Guardian. There was one, a Titan named Saint-14, but we are not sure he survived."

"Does the entire solar system look like this?" Aro asked, gesturing to the carnage outside.

"Not exactly. Mercury was turned into a machine a few days after the last humans left." Kain replied. "What?! What kind of creature is even capable of that?" Aro demanded. "The V..."

Kain was interrupted by a small beeping and with the sound suddenly, the ship began descend. As it left the clouds, a massive armored wall came into view. Inside was a large, expansive and bustling city with an incredibly large tower at the very center. As amazing as it all was , it didn't capture Aro's attention like the object floating above it did.

A massive white sphere just floating lifeless above the city. Floating lifelessly but he could feel a sort of warmth coming from it. Like he's known it for a long time.

"That's the Traveler." Kain said, confirming his silent, but probably already figured out question. "We're home."'


	3. The Last City on Earth

_The Last City on Earth_

Aro stared in almost childlike wonder at the city as the ship descended towards the Tower. As it entered the nearest open hangar, his view was cut off and the ship docked itself. The door opened and slightly disappointed, Arochukwu exited.

"I'll be right back. There's a bathroom around the corner if you need it." Kain said flying off.

Locating and entering the empty restroom, he saw himself for the first time in what was probably centuries. Dark brown skin, full lips with a full nose to match. His eyes were a dark brown, easily mistaken for pitch black without closer examination, even by him. His appearance just brought on even more questions than before. What age did Kain revive him at? Is it a younger age or did he die like this? What type of shit did he get himself into all those years ago that caused his death at what appeared to be the prime of his life? But now he had no time.

Exiting the bathroom, he examined the Tower's hangar, taking notice of the business of it. People were power walking back and forth. The only ones who stayed still were working on jumpships that made his own look like a broken child's toy. It was pretty hypnotizing to watch.

Distracted, something bumped into him, knocking his helmet out of his hands. "Damn, my bad.." Aro said, walking over to where his helmet rolled. A gloved hand grabbed it first and picked it up.

" Just revived huh?" a deep smooth voice asked. Aro looked up and his eyebrows rose at the sight. The…creature, Aro decided, had short pitch black hair and smooth grayish blue skin. Glowing blue eyes and a smiling mouth looked back. "Your slang. It's pretty old school." the creature continued.

"Uh…yeah." Aro stammered.

Probably just as eye catching was the blue metal creature coming up behind him with red glowing eyes. "Erek, we have to go. Daniel's starting to get impatient." it said in a feminine voice with an urgent tone.

"The man was born impatient. Probably clawed his way out of his mother 'cause she was taking to long. Erek by the way." the blue man said sticking out his hand.

"Arochukwu but I go by Aro if you prefer." Aro answered shaking the hand.

"I like Arochukwu better. This is my fireteam Kayla-7…" the machine stuck out her hand and shook his. "And the impatient one over there is Daniel." Standing about 15m down the walkway was a tall, well built dark haired man with pale skin and small dark brown eyes. Daniel looked Aro up and down and after a small, sort of awkward silence, the man nodded his head silently and walked off, beckoning his team to follow him.

"We really have to go." Kayla pleaded with Erek. "Alright I'm coming. See you around, new guy." and both jogged after Daniel.

"Is it that obvious?" Aro asked himself out loud.

"Yea it kind of is."

Turning around, he saw a petite, smiling blonde woman with her hand out. His Ghost was floating above her shoulder. "Amanda Holliday. Tower Shipwright. I'm in charge of Guardian transportation from ships to Sparrows."

"Arochukwu but-" Aro started shaking her hand.

"But you prefer Aro. I was told the story on the way by Kain here." Holliday finished for him, gesturing to his Ghost. "I have a list of things you need to do to get settled and outfitted." Holliday said, handing him a thick packet of paper. "Lucky for you the day just started cause you've got a bit to do." She joked. "I'll be taking this old thing apart and scavenging for parts. It'll take a few days but I'll have a new ship ready for you. It's incapable of interplanetary flight. So we better both get to work." And just as quickly as she came, she left.

"Well you heard the lady. Let's go." Kain said, flying off.

"Hey wait, you saw those two back there didn't you? What were they?" Aro asked referring to the machine and the blue skinned man. "Ah, the blue one is called an Awoken, humans who balance between the Light and the Darkness. Their origins are still murky. The machine is called an Exo. Built by Golden Age humans for what some believe is some unknown war. No one is even close to understanding them. Their brains are wired after yours. They have the full range of emotions humans have." Kain replied. "Most live in the city alongside other people but some continue to fight here and we're revived from dead like you. Outside you look different but they are just as human inside as you are. Your ancient ancestors had a lot of trouble accepting that. But you people are not meant perfect. As long as you try to get better. Now let's continue." Kain said flying off with Aro quickly walking behind.

Walking up the stairs, a robot nodded at him as he walked past. They moved towards what must be the main hall, which was open to the outside. The sun was just starting to rise but the place was already busy. Humans, Exo and Awoken were walking all over the place. At the edge, a ship docked, releasing a few passengers before flying off again. When it did, Aro got a good look over the ledge. It was a pretty damn long way down. They must have been on the top floor. And closer to the Traveler, who was much bigger than he originally thought.

"Amazing isn't it?"

An Awoken male came up behind him. Short stature and a wrinkled face, with a brown hood that covered one eye. Robed in yellow and white, there was an air of sarcastic wisdom about him. "Master Rahool of Cryptarchs. We decipher any Golden Age technology Guardians find on their journeys."

"Aro. Nice to meet you." Aro said sticking his hand out and receiving a firm shake.

"New I take it. Most recently revived Guardians have a habit of marveling at the Traveler." Master Rahool said retracting his blue hand. "Can't blame them though. Even I find myself staring and I've seen it all my life. It truly is magnificent." He continued wistfully.

"Yeah it really is." Aro confirmed. "Are you a Guardian too?"

"Oh no," Rahool laughed, "My heart couldn't take the excitement. But we are allied with the Guardians. A lot of the information they bring back are schematics for weapons and armor. So we're mostly outfitters, librarians and scholars here."

"Master Rahool. Xur is here and would like to speak with you." An android said, coming up behind him.

"Really? He's here already? I'll never know how he gets in here." Rahool said shaking his head. Sticking his hand out again, he said, "It's was nice to meet you, Arochukwu. I look forward to tales of your adventures."

Shaking his hand, Aro confusedly asked, "How'd you know that was my full name?"

"My specialty is old African languages. I'm fluent in Igbo. Well I can't keep Xur waiting. See you around Guardian." With a wave of his hand, Rahool strode off with the android moving behind him.

"We best get back to work too." Kain said.

They had started at dawn but by the time they finished, it was dark. Aro and Kain had spent the whole day walking up and down the tower. "Well lucky for us, your meeting with the Vanguard is tomorrow. If they deem it, you won't have to take the test" Kain said. "Let's see, here we go." he said stopping in front of a door. Aro swiped his ID through the slot and the door slip open.

To his surprise, someone was already there and had already made themselves comfortable. It was an Exo with green metal skin and light pink lights for eyes. It was watching the television with one foot propped on the table. After a few seconds, it noticed Aro and asked in a masculine voice, "Umm…may I help you?"

"I-uh was assigned to this room?" Aro asked more than said.

"Ah yes, I was told you were coming." The Exo popped up from the couch. With his hand out, he introduced himself, "Asura. This is my Ghost, Spirit."

Only then did Aro notice the Ghost floating over Asura's shoulder. "Arochukwu but you can call me Aro." He said shaking the Asura's hand and continued, "Uh Kain, you guys know each other?" he asked referring to the vibrant conversation between their Ghosts going on. "Yeah we do. For a while now." Kain answered.

"So you convinced him to let you keep the name?" Kain said this time talking to Spirit.

"Yes. It is pretty important to me. Once I explained the situation, there was no problem." a feminine voice said solemnly. Flying over to Aro, it said, "It's nice to meet you Arochukwu." She may not have a mouth but the smile in her voice was obvious and genuine.

"C'mon I'll show you to your room and tomorrow morning, I'll give you a tour of the place." Asura said. He began showing Aro the bathrooms and closets as well as where everything was kept. "Well that's it. Place is pretty small. I actually plan to move out when I can." Asura finished.

"We're not required to live here?"

"Nope. This place couldn't fit everyone." Asura said with a small robotic laugh, "I'm just here until I can find myself a good place. Cheaper here, better out there."

"So you're new too?" Aro asked, sitting down on the couch

"Sort of. I got here 3 weeks ago. Haven't been out in the field yet though. They've been having trouble with my ship. Have you been classed yet?" he asked.

"Not exactly. I have a meeting with the Vanguard tomorrow morning concerning my classification. You've already taken the test?" Aro asked.

"Yeah. Classified as a Hunter. Apparently I do pretty damn well when it comes to getting around places quickly. Still find myself tripping over random shit though." Asura joked. "Well if you got an early start tomorrow, I'll leave you alone and keep it down."

"Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow." Aro said, shaking his hand and leaving for his room. He quietly closed the door behind him and laid down on the bed.

He spent awhile in silence, staring at the ceiling and rethinking the events of the day. Just yesterday, he was a skinless corpse. Probably being nibbled on. He wondered what had killed him. "Probably what ever killed all those other people too." Aro thought, mind flashing back to the screaming skeleton.

Everything about who he originally was, was gone. What happened to his parents, relatives? Any siblings? Wife or children? What if he actually had descendants living inside the City? It saddened him that there were so many questions, he'd never get an answer to.

When it started to become an effort to keep his eyes open, he stopped trying, falling asleep almost immediately. Kain silently removed his armor while he slept, pondering the same questions.


	4. The Vanguard

_The Vanguard_

Aro opened his eyes. Or at least he felt like he did. The room he was in was pitch black. He tried to move but couldn't. Only then did he notice that he was not touching anything solid. He couldn't feel his bed or the wall. He was upright but there was nothing under his feet.

He was floating.

Then he heard a roar.

This one terrifying roar was joined by another. And another and another until he had lost count of the different creatures adding their voices to the nightmarish orchestra. He started to feel grimy, darting hands pick and pull at him but there was a tension behind it. Almost like they wanted to do much more but had to restrain themselves. He felt them on his head, his backs, his arms and he struggled to shake them off.

Aro couldn't see the obviously massive creatures screaming at him or the small ones poking and prodding him but he could see someone in the distance. Seven people in fact. All faceless with a massive, horrendous swirling dark cloud above their heads. he started to hear whispers in his ears from all around. Overlapping each other but all saying one thing. The whispering started to die down only for a booming voice to be heard repeating what they said for the entire universe to hear,

"_THE GATE IS RISEN!" _

And with that, the roars became louder and grew closer, stomping accompanied it. The prodding hands that restrained themselves stopped restraining. They started to viciously claw and pull on him, razing his skin. The monsters were getting closer and were practically on top of him. He opened his mouth to scream…

And woke with a start.

He looked around. He was back in his bed.

"It was just a dream" he whispered to himself, flopping down on the pillow. It was true but he couldn't believe it. Every part just felt so real. Even after waking up, he could still feel the pain from the scratches and his ears were still ringing from the demonic symphony.

"Aro come on and get ready. You gotta eat before we go. Are you ok?" Kain asked, worried.

"You didn't see it? I thought you could read my mind?" Aro said, starting to calm down.

"Yeah I can but I didn't see anything on your mind. There was no dream activity. But I'm reading your mind now and I see everything. We'll have to discuss later though. We have to go." Kain said.

Aro got out of bed…only to see that he wasn't wearing clothes. "What happened to my clothes?" Aro said, quickly wrapping the bed sheet around his waist.

"Oh calm down. You humans and your reproductive organs. Your uniform is inside the bathroom. " Kain said nonchalantly. Rolling his eyes , he pushed past Kain moved towards the bathroom and roughly closing the door. The uniform consisted of boots, dark grey cargo pants and simple form fitting black shirt. On the front of the shirt in the upper left corner was a single pyramid. On the back were two open circles. Opening the door and sticking only his head and the shirt outside the door, he asked Kain, "What do these symbols mean?"

"The small one on the front is the mark of the class-less You haven't been assigned to a class yet. When its decided, that pyramid will be changed to match the emblem of your class. The two circles on your back symbolize the elements you will hold." Kain answered.

"Elements?" Aro inquired as he put the shirt on.

"The Light allows us to weaponize it into three different forms. Solar, Arc and Void. Each class is a master of two. Titans weaponize Void and Arc. Hunters utilize Solar and Arc. Warlocks can command Void and Solar."

"No one can use all three?"

"We actually have no idea. But do not get curious. We don't need a trans dimensional vortex opening up in our bedroom." Kain warned sternly.

"Alright. Alright. Just asking, damn." Closing the door behind him again, Kain continued to fixed himself up and did one last check to decide if he was presentably. Exiting the bathroom and the bathroom, he walked towards the kitchen to see Asura and Spirit also leaving, ready to close the door behind them. Noticing Aro and Kain, he stopped in his tracks and waved, "Morning, didn't know you were awake yet." Opening the door again.

"Really? You didn't hear him yelling?" Kain asked sarcastically, earning a glare from Aro and a laugh from Asura and Spirit. "C'mon. I'll show you to the dining hall. When's your test?" Asura said as they started walking together.

"In about 2 hours." Kain answered as he and Aro followed him, noticing his uniform. He wore the same boots and grey cargo pants. His shirt was still black and right at the chest was a glowing red light. On the upper left corner was what Aro assumed was the Hunter emblem. Six rectangles leaning against each other by their corners, stacked on top of each other. The space in between formed three pyramids. On his back, the same two large circles but unlike his own, filled in. The upper circle had a shimmering orange flame that he figured was Solar, while the bottom had a shimmering light blue buzz saw which he assumed was Arc.

The dining hall was large and filled with other people in the same matching uniforms. Among the crowd, he saw a few empty circles. Other new Guardians.

Grabbing a plate and a table with Asura, they spent the next hour and a half eating and talking. "You need to eat?" Aro asked seeing his plate of food.

"No. It's just for pleasure. I'll just end up burning it off." Asura mostly talked about the City and what it had to offer, piquing Aro's interest to see it when he had the chance. Asura also introduced Aro to other recently classed Guardians that he met. But like every good thing, their time came to an end. "Good luck you guys." Spirit called out. Asura simply raised his drink in silent salute, mouth too full to speak.

Turning around, Aro realized he almost pumped into a tall woman. "I'm sorry." He said moving past her. The "she" in question was an Awoken with stern eyes, short hair and a hard mouth, quickly nodded and walked past. On her chest was a four pyramids with the heads pointing each other, forming a hexagon. As she walked away, her back had the Arc symbol and a swirling violet sphere Aro guessed represented the Void element.

"Kain. The woman we just bumped into. Is she a Titan?"

"Walk faster and yes she is. So you're learning. " He answered in Aro's head. "Anyway, forget about her. We're here." Aro stopped in front of a door. After a moment of silent preparation, he took a deep breath and knocked.

"Come in." A strong commanding female voice echoed.

Aro did as he was told.

It lead to a large room with a solitary circular window on the back wall. Below it was a large desk with 4 chairs and 4 people sitting in them. A woman with a shaved head, russet brown skin and a serious, no bullshit expression on her face, stood and spoke, "Arochukwu correct?" She said in the same tone she used to bring him inside.

"Yes ma'am." Aro answered quickly.

"Welcome. You must be tired after what you had to go through to get here. We'll do this quickly. My name is Ikora Rey. Vanguard of the Warlock Order." Next to her was an Exo, with a crystalline blue body and blue eyes to match. His most noticeable feature was the horn protruding for his forehead and the eternally bored vibe he gave off. "Cayde-6. Vanguard of the Hunter Regiment." He simply said raising his hand. As if he'd pay very good money to be anywhere else right now.

An Awoken male next to him stood only slightly. "Zavala. Vanguard of the Titan Corps. Welcome Guardian." He had a darker shade of blue skin and blue eyes common than most of the Awokens Aro had met but what set Zavala apart was his obvious imposing height and rippling musculature, evident through his uniform. He was a Titan for a reason.

The last one silently stood and said in a soft voice, "I am called The Speaker. I monitor and decipher the Traveler as well as act as Commander in Chief of our Guardian force. Welcome Aro. We have some questions for you if you wouldn't mind answering them?"

"Um, yes sir." Aro hesitantly.

"Well then let's begin. We were told in a report from your Ghost, Kain, that he found your remains with a piece of cloth tied around your arm. It had two names, Arochukwu and Kain, the former you took as your own. After he found you in the Cosmodrome of Old Russia, you came across a group of Fallen. While fighting them off, a Dreg attempted to pounce on you and you. You stuck out your hand to stop him and it suddenly evaporated in a flash of violet light. All of this without you touching him, am I correct?" Ikora Rey asked.

"Yes ma'am that is correct." Aro answered immediately.

"Have you at anytime been able to replicate the ability?" Commander Zavala spoke up.

"No sir. I have not attempted to." Aro replied. "As it happens sir, I have the fight recorded in my memory." Kain spoke up. It then promptly flew over to an electronic box and started to fire a high powered beam into it. An image started to shimmer into existence in front of them. Kain showed the Dreg running towards them from Aro's point of view. Again just as the Dreg jumped, Aro's hand rose up, followed by a flash of violet light and a rush of wind and the Dreg shimmered out of existence. The image followed suit.

"Impressive." Commander Cayde said, sounding at least a little lively.

"Very. Most Warlocks who start training take a little while before they can drain at that caliber. But I would like to see the full extent of your abilities." With the press of a button in front of her, a plain metal dummy came out of the ground. A press of another button and the dummy came to life and wildly came at him.

Aro jumped back to narrowly avoid getting hit only for the machine to keep coming. He put out his open hand and tried to force push it back, but the impact only slowed its movements. As the Vanguard looked on, the dummy got more and more aggressive in its attacks and Aro tried his best to avoid being hit and looking a fool in front of a crowd.

But in his panic, he missed a step and fell over. The machine lunged at him causing him to flashback to the Dreg, ready to devour him with its grotesque mouth. His panic built up and in one final desperate effort, Aro stuck out his hand, hoping to at least slow it down.

Then just like before.

A rush of wind.

A hard impact.

A flash of purple light.

And suddenly, the rampaging dummy was gone.

He didn't know how he felt. On one hand, he felt energized. As if someone had injected caffeine straight into his veins. On the other hand, he felt sick and dizzy, laying his head on the floor to calm himself down.

The Vanguard looked on in surprise. Even Commander Cayde seemed fully invested in where he was now. "An advanced ability with absolutely no training. I've never seen anything like this before." Ikora Rey said thoughtfully.

"I assume this means you will be taking him under your wing Master Rey?" The Speaker asked.

"Yes sir."

"Then we are done here." The Speaker said, all four rising.

Aro felt the room start to stop spinning, keeping his head on the ground. Cayde's face appeared right over him, looking down at him with an amused expression. A blue hand appeared over his head. Aro reached for it to help himself up, only to be pulled up by Commander Zavala as if he was a toddler being picked up by his father.

Zavala helped him over to a seat while Ikora handed him a bottle of water, ordering him to drink slowly. "Ikora and I will handle the rest here, you two may go."

"Welcome to the family Warlock." Cayde said before briskly walking out. With a small nod and a pat on the shoulder, Zavala followed his friend, closing the door behind him.

"So I guess I passed?" Aro asked dizzily.

"You can say that." Ikora replied

"Can you stand and walk Guardian?" The Speaker asked. Aro confirmed he could on shaky legs.

"Head back to your room and rest. Your uniform and other items will be there shortly. Amara, have you gotten the information you need?" Rey asked opening her hand. In a flash of light, a Ghost appeared over it. "Yes Ikora, I've gotten everything I need from his Ghost." it replied.

"In that case, we best be on our way. We will see you both later. Welcome to our Order, Aro." Ikora nodded, turned and briskly strode away, her Ghost following her.

"It's best I get back to work as well. You need to rest. I will walk you back." The Speaker said.

"No sir it isn't necessary." Aro said quickly.

"No it isn't but I'm in no rush. Besides, we don't need you collapsing again." With that answer, he walked towards the door and after a moment's hesitation, Arochukwu followed.


	5. Dreams and Nightmares

_Dreams and Nightmares_

* * *

Aro really had no idea of who he was before his revival. At least now he has an idea. As he walked through the Tower with the Speaker, Guardians stopped and stared constantly and openly. He had never been so uncomfortable with attention in his restarted life.

The Speaker either didn't notice or didn't give a damn. He conversed with Aro, asked him questions and in returned, answered his. Aro was told about the City and about the different planets that humanity had taken a hold of. The Ishtar Sink on Venus, the Ocean of Storms on the Moon, Meridian Bay on Mars and the Cosmodrome on Russia. The four regions humanity decided to begin with to take their homes back. But something came to mind.

"Sir, I was wondering. When you say humanity, who do you mean?" he asked as they closed in on their destination.

"If you're wondering if we include the Awoken and Exo with us then yes we do." He answered, "They may look very different from us but they are in just as much trouble as us and they have been fighting alongside us since the Darkness began to claim us. You must have died before the Exos' creation and the Awokens' birth." He continued. "Either way, they are now as much your brothers and sisters as other humans are and I will tolerate no discrimination against them. Understand?"

"Yes sir." Aro said. With that, they stopped in front of his room and with a quick goodbye, the Speaker strode off and Aro entered his room. Asura, true to form, was planted on the couch in front of the television.

"You don't have anything to do? Like a several planets to protect?" Aro said.

"Not till noon." Asura answered devoid of sarcasm as he lazily flipping through channels, lSo what were you classified as? Warlock right?" he asked Aro.

"Yeah."

"Well for one, they'd be dumb to put you anywhere else and two, a package came for you and I took the liberty of going through it." Asura said in a teasing manner. "It's on your bed."

Asura laughed as Aro rolled his eyes and walked to his room and shut the door behind him. As Asura said, there was a box on his bed opened. Inside were a few slips of paper inside of a folder on top of a large book. Sifting through the papers, he read instructions on keeping his uniform clean as well as important numbers to call and a list of his classes. His day started early tomorrow but the day was still young today. Switching out his uniform and donning the new one, he noticed the overlapping pyramids above his chest. The emblem of the Warlocks. It came with a large black jacket and a small necklace with his name, his Ghost's name and his class and Rank One on the two silver dog tags.

"So we have all day free, what are we doing?" Kain said appearing in a blink of light.

"I'm supposed to be resting remember?" Aro reminded him, flopping on the bed with the textbook. He started at the table of contents. The Golden Age. The Collapse. The Traveler. The Light. The Darkness. Hunters, Titans, Warlocks and their classes abilities. Different types of weapons and the clearance of certain ranks. Wondering what his rank meant, he started there. Each rank correlated to a certain set of levels. "Rank One gave him access to the Cosmodrome on Earth only as well as access three Rank One Primary Weapons and two Rank One special weapons." he read to himself. He would need to be outfitted for his armor later.

Flipping to the sections on Warlocks, he decided to read up on them. It held a list of notable Warlocks such as Toland, Osiris and Eriana-3. Next to most of the names on the list were stars. The Stars marked the permanently deceased. Most bodies were never brought back or recovered. He read till dark, skipping lunch out of pure laziness.

Hearing a knock on his door, Asura called through the door asking if he wanted to grab dinner.

"Might as well." He decided. Both Asura and Aro talked about their days while eating and Aro met even more Guardians Asura had made friends with. It was kind of easy to see how he made so many friends in just a few weeks here. Asura was incredibly likeable and funny. No matter what he did, it was near impossible to get angry at him. He was everyone's kid brother. In between conversations with other Guardians who had decided to sit with them, Aro would notice one lone Guardian sitting by herself, conversing quietly with her Ghost. He recognized her as the Titan he almost bumped into just this morning. Her expression hadn't changed much in that time. Same unsmiling face and half closed eyes, as if nothing interested her.

"Hey do you know her?" Aro asked Asura, using his chin to point to her.

Blatantly turning around, he said, "Um I think her name is Crona. Her Ghost's name is Sol. She's as naturally gifted as you with no training. Not surprised considering her lineage."

"Lineage?"

"Yep. Lineage."

"...Care to elaborate?" Aro asked after a few seconds of waiting for an answer.

"Her father is Commander Zavala."

This earned a surprised look from Aro. "How long ago was Zavala brought back?"

"Not everyone is brought from the dead. Zavala was born in the Reef and he moved here when his Ghost, Zea, found him. Started a family and his younger daughter was also classed a Guardian." Spirit explained, "Master Ikora and Captain Cayde, however, were brought back."

"Have you met Captain Cayde yet?"

"Just once. Nice guy. Eternally bored with the world." Asura answered.

"Yeah I can tell." Kain chuckled.

They continued conversing on no particular set of topics. They lost track of time until the dining hall announced their closing. Entering the hall, Aro recognized a familiar face with 2 others walking through the hall.

Apparently Asura recognized them too as he broke out into a run and jumped on the Awoken, catching him by surprise. Turning around, Aro realized it was the team from before. Erek and Kayla were enthusiastically talking with Asura. Daniel stood a bit off waiting for them to finish. Kayla, looking over Asura's shoulder, recognized Aro, beckoning him over. "How are you adjusting Aro?" She asked, a smile in her voice.

"It's…coming along." Aro said, smiling back.

"That's good to hear. But don't get frustrated if it takes a while. I revived Kayla too." The Ghost over her shoulder answered in a feminine voice. Aro was just now noticing it.

Laughing, it said, "I just remembered we never officially met. Sixx. At your service."

"Eren. Welcome to the Tower." Erek's Ghost said, nodding at him. Daniel remained silent in the back, prompting his Ghost to fly over.

"Since this jerk won't introduce me, I'm Caesar, Daniel's Ghost."

Releasing a defeated sigh, Daniel walked over holding his hand out, "Daniel." he said in a deep smooth voice.

"Yeah we heard." Asura said shaking his hand and earning the first semblance of a smile Aro had seen on Daniel's face. Turning to Aro, he received the same handshake and introduction. The only difference is eye contact lingered just a bit longer than with Asura.

It was still brief.

"So where were you guys going in such a rush?" Aro asked, remembering how they met.

"Strange activity in the Hellmouth. We were asked to check it out." Kayla said.

"Hellmouth?"

"It's on the Moon where the Hive-" her answer was interrupted by her Ghost, "Everyone, the Vanguard would like to talk to us. Asura, Aro, it was nice meeting you." Sixx said. Erek, Caesar, Eren and Kayla said their goodbyes, Daniel simply waved before they all quickly walked off.

"Wonder how long they've been here...Asura?" Aro asked when Asura, uncharacteristically didn't respond. As a matter of fact, he seemed stiff and spaced out.

"Asura? You ok?" Aro asked, waving his hand in front of Asura's face, trying to get his attention.

"Spirit?" he decided to try and talk to his Ghost, "Is something wrong?"

Spirit was silent for a second and before it could answer, Asura said in a monotone voice, "Sorry. I really have to go. Sorry." before quickly walking towards their room and quickly entering.

"Strange. Maybe his circuits were messed up when Spirit revived him." Kain said while they entered the room after them.

"Should we go after him?" Aro asked.

"It think it's best to let him be for now. He might just not be feeling well. Besides, I think we need to talk about what's on your mind…"

"The dream."

"Exactly. Have any clues about what it was about? And what did the voice mean by "The Gate is Risen"?"

"None at all and no idea."

"Should we talk with Ikora?"

"Not yet. It may just have been one bad dream." Aro said.

"But that's the thing. You weren't dreaming. Your mind somehow closed itself off to me. You were asleep so you couldn't have done it. But if you don't want to, that's fine." Kain said, although obviously not agreeing with his Guardian's decision.

Aro walked into the bathroom and closed the door and turned on the shower. He waited until it was hot before peeling his clothes off and entering. He spent nearly two hours under the the steaming jet of water, just contemplating everything that's been happening.

As much as he didn't want to, he had to get out. He quickly dried off, changed and went to sleep, hoping for a better night.


	6. New Recruits

_New Recruits_

* * *

Someone must have been listening to him because Aro didn't wake once during the night. With the day he was about to have, the last thing he needed was restless night.

Same routine as before, he prepared and donned his uniform, packing his books and leaving his room only for Spirit to stop him and Kain in the hallway to help wake Asura up. Which apparently wasn't an easy task. After nearly fifteen minutes of wrestling him out of bed, he gave up and started getting ready to leave. As soon as he did, he let Kain lead him to the training area and his seat.

There were a few familiar faces in the class and some new ones and the class was an even mix of humans, Exo and Awoken. Fifteen minutes after Aro's arrival, an obviously grumpy Asura walked in and dropped himself in the seat next to Aro.

Choosing not to ask Asura about the situation last night he instead asked. "So how was your morning?"

"Shut up."

"You sound like a petulant child."

"…I don't even know what a petulant child sounds like. And I would have gotten up sooner or later." Asura complained, leaning back in a huff.

"No you wouldn't." Spirit said, piping in.

"Yeah I would have."

"You tried to lock me out when I woke you up!"

Suddenly the whole class fell silent, as well as Asura's and Spirit's argument. A light blue Exo with gold trim walked into the room and took its place at the front of the room. Right behind him was Crona who took her place on the front row.

"So you're the new bunch huh?" it said in a gravelly voice, "I'm not impressed. But you can change that. Name is Banshee-44. I'm your weapons instructor. You need work done on your weapons? You _need_ weapons? You come to me. Now let's get started."

Wasting no time, he brought out four types of weapons and identified them. He picked up the first one, a large, streamlined weapon, pointed it at a target behind him and clicked the trigger. The rifle buzzed to light and holes appeared in the target, accompanied by blinding flashes of light and deafening buzzes. Most of the Human and Awoken Guardians had to cover their ears. After a few seconds, the lights and buzzing stopped. The gun clicked empty.

"The automatic rifle. Pull the trigger once and unlike the others, you will not have to pull again. Good for those who prefer close to medium range combat." Banshee said. He picked up another weapon, a smaller one. "My personal favorite, the Hand Cannon. One bullet per pull of the trigger. Perfect for close combat but it's best to have extremely steady hands with this one. You do _not _want to miss." With that, Banshee spun around, aimed the weapon at eye level and clicked the trigger.

The target's head didn't just gain a large hole, it snapped back completely with a resounding boom. He empty the clip into the rest of the body since the head was no longer available. With the empty clip, he rocked the gun to the left, opening the clip. "The problem with this gun," he said as the empty magazine fell into his hands, "is how long it takes to reload. Which is why I say don't miss and aim for heads. You do not want to reload this while surrounded. Now moving on…" and he did.

Aro looked on in fascination at the different weapons he brought out. Scout Rifles, Pulse Rifles, energy based Fusion Rifles and so on. "Since you are all Rank 1 Guardians, you will only have access to 3 of these 4 primary weapons. You will, however be training with all of them to see which you are best with. So divide yourself into four different groups." he said, walking over to a large closet.

Opening it revealed neatly organized stacks of Auto, Scout and Pulse Rifles as well as Hand Cannons. Once the groups were arranged, he instructed each group to grab a different type of weapon, Aro and Asura's group getting Auto Rifles first. They were given ear muffs and goggles to shield their eyes and ears, took a place at the targets and started firing.

Aro had a little practice with the rifle he found in the Cosmodrome and Asura was struggling a bit to keep control of the auto but Crona was excelling with every weapon she used. Almost as if she had been training with weapons her whole life, which made sense since Zavala was already a well trained Guardian when she was born. Where she aimed, the bullets hit without question. Not even the inanimate gun would dare disobey her.

Banshee worked them ragged. He had them learn to take the guns apart and put them back together to the point of muscle memory. He had them learning to shoot with all kinds of different weapons in different situations. It seemed a bit high pace for people so new but knowing what was out there rationalized their speed for the class.

They did not have time to wait.

If they were not working with weapons, it was physical training such as martial arts and melee/weapon combat. Aro was trained in further usage of the push attack he had demonstrated in the Cosmodrome. Called the Energy Drain, it lived up to its name. Every time he used the attack on one of the mechanical dummies, it shut down, drained of power, leaving him feeling revitalized and energized. The machine always revived itself so he could do it again.

Each Hunter was outfitted with their own personal knife and taught to use them and Asura could not stop showing it off. Apparently Titans used only their fists, which as usual, Crona was adept at. If not physical or vehicular training then philosophy and history. If not that then as a Warlock, it was biology, chemistry, physics and the Light.

To the instructors, Aro seemed on a whole other level than the rest of the beginner Warlocks. When others managed to make tiny, temporary sparks in the palms of their hands, Aro was trying to keep from blinding himself and anyone around him. While other Warlocks could barely get off the ground for more than a few seconds, Aro had rocketed up into the air, with no idea how to get down again.

This went on for two months. The other Warlocks got better at using their abilities and Aro got a handle on his raw power. This continued until the Vanguard decided they were ready for their first missions. With that they were sent to be outfitted.

The armor they were given were thin, plain and mostly grey, white and black. Aro's armor seemed more robes than armor. When handed a helmet, Kain appeared to scan and sync with it. Putting it on, it activated automatically. A small, clear circle appeared in the upper left corner. "For tracking enemies and other people out on the field. Enemies will appear in red, Guardians in blue and teammates in green." Kain answered when asked. "At the bottom right, you'll see the computer keeping track of your ammo and to the left keeps track of your close quarter attacks and grenade abilities. It takes a little while to charge after each usage." It continued.

Aro was then handed a large circular ring. Taking it, he asked, "What is this for?"

"It goes around your left arm. It's called the Bond. It represents your allegiance to the Warlock Order. Progress through the ranks and you can find better, more illustrious bonds." the droid working there answered. Asura was then handed a large, plain cape with a hood attached, called a Hunter's Cloak, receiving his own explanation. Finally, they were given the choice to choose a shader, which colors their armor. Selecting the "Double Banshee" shader, Asura's armor changed from plain gray to a dark blue color from head to toe.

Not liking it, he kept switched through colors. Aro was not as choosy, settling for the "RoseGold" shader. The cloth parts of his armor became a royal violet color while the solid, metal pieces shined a bright gold.

Though done, he waited patiently for Asura to decide and, when he settled on keeping the "Double Banshee" left with him. Heading to the weapon smiths, they scanned ID and helped them choose the best weapon. Aro was outfitted with a Scout, Auto and Pulse Rifle while Asura got the Scout and Pulse Rifle along with the Hand Cannon. For the special weapons, both were given Shotguns. Asura received a Sniper Rifle and Aro a Fusion Rifle.

"No Rocket Launchers or Machine Guns?" Aro asked the smith as he tested the sights of the Hand Cannon.

"Heavy weapons are for Rank Two and above or Rank One with special permission." The droid said mechanically.

"Rank One's never get to have fun." Asura said, earning a smile from Aro.

Fully outfitted and weaponized, Aro and Asura still had no idea who to pick for a third person to complete their fireteam. Apparently they started too late because everyone else was already partnered up. All except one. Reading a book and sitting alone was Crona, with a bored look in her face. Her armor was large, bulky and mostly silver and black metal. She had an auto rifle attached to her back and a Titan Mark around her waist. Getting an idea and tapping Asura's shoulder, he nodded at her, "What about Crona?"

Asura gave him an incredulous look, wondering if he was serious.

"Why not?"

"She obviously doesn't want a team."

"It really doesn't matter what she wants. Our orders are to get a team of three together."

"I can't do it."

"Can't or won't?"

"I don't know! Pick one!"

Both were so lost in their argument that they did not hear Crona roll her eyes, close her book, get up and walk over to them.

Aro paused for a second before asking, "Crona right? Aro. " sticking out his hands. She nodded silently and shook his hand. Asura introduced himself the same way.

"We've been meaning to ask if you wanted to be on our team for the mission they are going to send us on." Asura relented.

"Sure. Why not?" She said unenthusiastically. She moved past them, saying, "Registration is this way." and continued on without a look back.

Asura narrowed his eyes at Aro before following with Aro bringing up the rear. Registration took a half hour and after, Crona said, "Meet me in the Tower Hangar when you are ready to go." she said briskly walking off.

Getting back to their room, they packed what they might need for the journey.

"Are you sure about Crona? She really doesn't seem to like us." Asura said as they walked out towards the Hangar.

"She doesn't seem to like anyone. But if she wants to make it through this, she's gonna have to work with us." After that both walked in silence. Images of the Fallen flashed through his mind and according to Kain, the planet was littered with them. It's no surprise that he wasn't excited for their job.

"We'll be fine. We've got a good team. If you go down, remember I can revive you." Kain said in his head, hoping to comfort him.

Before they knew it, they had reached the Hangar to see Crona talking with the Shipwright.

Upon seeing them, Holliday popped up and came over to them. "Aro and Asura. It's been a while." she said smiling and shaking both their hands, "Asura I got your ship ready but Aro I'm struggling with yours."

She continued, "This is a bit embarrassing but I can't seem to find the right hyperdrive. Maybe if you looked around where you got the ship. I'll keep searching here but do be on the lookout. But it is ready to fly." Almost on cue, a loud mechanical whirring caught the trio's attention. A large, vibrant red ship rose on a platform from underground. Next to it was an equally large white vehicle with blue trim.

"Asura, the red one is yours and Crona, the white is yours. Check it out if you like. Aro, if you would follow me." Holliday said before spinning around and walking away.

With a quick look back and a wave, Aro followed. "Your ship is right here. Changed the color around a bit but I hope you like it." She gestured behind her at the navy blue streamlined jet with tinted windows. Aro was mesmerized, finding it a bit hard to believe that he owned it. He was snapped out of it by a pat on his shoulder.

"Good luck out there. We're expecting great things." Amanda said and with one of her usual beaming smiles, left.

After a few seconds, Kain appeared. "Crona and Asura are ready. You ready to head out?" After a sigh, Aro said, "Let's go." With that, he became weightless, bringing back memories of the first time. Kain had teleported him into the ship. With that, Kain disappeared again and the on board computers came on. From the speakers he heard Kain's voice, running diagnostics. The engines roared to life right after. The ship lurched slightly and started to rotate to face the opening behind it.

Sitting at the seat, Aro looked out the windshield of the jumpship, watching birds fly by. Kain counted off while Aro strapped himself in

"Launching in 5...4...3...2...1...0." With that, the ship's engine blasted even louder than before Aro could think about it, the ship flew out the opening in front of it.

"WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!" Aro heard Asura's laugh through the radio. Looking to the left he saw Asura's red ship rocket out beside him. Crona, as usually said nothing. Aro's ship surged through the air, falling in line with Asura and Crona.

"Look below us." Kain said, an image appearing on the left of the windshield. Children far below them were staring and pointing,some even running after the ships. Awoken, Human and even little Exos.

"Kain, why are the Exos children? I thought they weren't fully organic." he asked. "Exos are so advanced that nothing short of a Ghost can comprehend them. And even then, we don't know how to recreate them. Not even your ancestors knew. They received the schematics from some kind of blueprint and reverse engineered it. Only two Exos can create another. They were reverse engineered to behave like Humans and they took it extremely literal. So when their minds are first created, they behave as Human and Awoken children and are given the bodies to match. They progress through life that you guys and at a certain age, they shut down permanently. Like Humans."

Aro was silent through its whole explanation and by the time Kain had finished, the children disappeared from sight. The children seemed so happy and at peace, total trust in their Guardians, hoping that they would come back but if they didn't, they died fighting for them.

"We'll be at the Cosmodrome in about an hour. Try to relax."

With another sigh, Aro sat back and stared out the window at the back of Asura's ship, just a little bit ahead. He was going to make it through this and when he did, he was going to visit the City. Besides, it's about time he got to know his new home.


	7. Restoration Part I

_Restoration Part I_

* * *

"Aro wake up. We're arriving."

Opening his eyes, he saw them start to descend through the clouds. He was greeted by a large expansive area, slightly covered with snow, with large ships docked for take off but never actually getting the chance to.

"Weapon up. We're heading down." With that, his helmet appeared over his head and activated. He grabbed the Auto Rifle and attached the Fusion Rifle to his back, allowing it to magnetically stick. The three jumpships descended close to the ground and Kain teleported them onto the ground.

For the first time in months, he was back. And he wasn't particularly excited to be.

Asura appeared to his right and Crona to his left. Their trio of jumpships rocketed back into the sky, waiting for them in orbit. Using her auto rifle's scope, Crona scanned the area for anyone who might be trouble, her Titan Mark swaying in the chilly wind. After making sure the coast was clear, she said, "C'mon. We're handling the Divide. Which should be this way." pointing towards an open area with a large rundown building to the right of them.

"Fingers on triggers boys, this is the real deal." And with that, Crona took the lead, breaking into a jog. Asura and Aro followed close behind.

"Crona, have you ever been here before?" Asura asked.

"...No. This is my first time outside the City. Or even facing Fallen outside of simulation." she answered softly.

"You fought them before didn't you?" Asura asked to Aro.

"Yeah. Right here in the Cosmodrome." Aro answered, memories flooding back. They entered the open building and under Crona's direction, walked through the door on the left. The area was broken and run down, no people to maintain it and the Fallen obviously did not care for decor. The trio weaved through one room after another until they entered a large open space with a massive hole in the back wall. One look and they hid. The place was littered with Dregs, Vandals and tiny flying machines Aro remembered as Shanks. They didn't duck soon enough though. The Shank buzzed its alert and the blue lights started to hit overhead.

"Remember your training. Take em out!" Crona yelled. Springing from her hiding place, she brought the auto rifle to eye level, clicked the trigger and took out the Shank that had noticed them. It gave off a loud whirring and died as it dropped to the ground and exploded.

Aro and Asura followed quickly behind, their training kicking in. Seeing that Crona was not alone, the Fallen ran to take cover. Most did not make it as the trio took them down.

A Vandal had gotten too close to Crona and took a swipe at her head with its long arm and claws. Quickly ducking, Crona smashed a Storm Fist straight into its face. The final Vandal danced as if it had been struck by lightning and dropped dead. When they had made sure the room was clear, they relaxed.

"Everyone ok?" Crona asked. "I'll be fine." Asura said shakily, cleaning his knife.

"Are you sure?" Aro inquired concerned. "Yes. Please. Let's just…" Asura tried to finish but he could not. He held his head in his hands and his knees started to buckle. Aro caught him before he could fall over and helped him over to the wall, sitting him down against it. Asura kept his head down and his face covered by his hood but Aro could hear him whispering random words and numbers.

"Fleet 64. Base Seven, northern region. Wipe it. Wipe it clean."

"Spirit? Where are you?" Crona asked, crouching down in front of Asura.

"I'm checking him now and...I really don't know what I'm seeing." it answered.

"Give us the best explanation you can muster." Aro said as Asura continued muttering. Spirit was quiet for a second and then said,

"I'm seeing…giant fleets moving in on a planet. I've never seen these kinds of ships before nor do I recognize the planet and…it's gone."

Asura was silent and still. "Asura? Asura? Wake up." Crona said, shaking him. Asura raised his head, blinked once and then put his head in his hands again, groaning.

"Damn it. I'm fine. How long have I been out?" he asked. "

Just a few seconds. This is the 2nd time this has happened. Is something wrong?" Aro asked concerned.

"No. I said I'm fine. Help me up. We got a job to do." Using Aro's shoulder as leverage, he picked himself up, retrieved his gun and started to move. Crona and Aro shared a look and soon followed. After a few minutes of walking, they reached their destination. The name of the area appeared at the bottom left of their helmet screens.

"The Divide. Old Russia, Earth."

"We're here." Crona said. The Divide was a very large, open area littered with dead, rusty vehicles and equally rusty buildings that must have been a sight to behold during the Golden Age. To the left of them was a massive wall, several hundred feet high. And the place was littered with Fallen.

"Okay. Our first mission is to gather intel on this area. I can do that. See that glowing beacon over there?" Crona said, pointing to the flashing green light against the wall, "You two will see what mission it has for us. The Tower sends missions through those for us to pick up and in turn, they pay us."

"Alright then." Asura said, moving towards it. "Aro, stick with Asura in case he has another episode." Crona said to Aro alone. Aro promptly followed Asura to the beacon. When Asura got to it, the heard a small ringing in their comms and the green light disappearing. Then a familiar deep voice.

"We have an important strike coming through. We need this area thinned." Commander Zavala's pre-recorded message played back.

"Thinned?" Aro asked.

"We need wipe this place clean." Kain answered.

Asura's head was back in his free hand at Kain's answer.

"Uh, sorry." Kain buzzed

"Are you alright?" Aro asked, worried about another episode

"For the third time, I'm fine. Let's just get to work." came the gruff answer.

Checking Crona's position, they saw that she had taken point on the roof of the far right structure. Her Ghost, Sol, was mapping the layout of The Divide. Suddenly, a fast moving bolt of light flew past her head. She ducked behind a vent to prevent her attacker from reacquiring its target.

Both Aro and Asura traced the line of fire to two Fallen Vandals, one with a very long rifle on the roof of a building directly 20 meters ahead.

Immediately switching to his Sniper Rifle, Asura expertly aimed and took off one of the Vandals' head. The headless corpse twitched and dropped like stones. It's sniper friend quickly jumped through a large hole in the ceiling and hid to avoid the other one's fate. But ever dutiful, it started aiming for Asura and Aro.

Then, a mass of Fallen came running out of the building the beacon was placed against. Five Dregs and one Vandal. The Vandal and two Dregs took a higher point on the roof while the remaining three ran at the duo.

"I'll handle these three! Go get rid of the sniper! Take the roof!" Aro commanded.

Asura didn't need to be told twice.

He switched back to his Hand Cannon and ran up the stairs. The two Dregs charged him. The closer one got a blade stuck into and then yanked out of its throat. While it was busy choking on its own blood, Asura shot the other one, caving in it's chest. The smarter Vandal, jumped off the roof to hide inside the building. At the same time, Asura quickly flicked his wrist at it, a knife landing dead center in the middle of its head. It's corpse finished the journey to the ground.

At the same time, Aro quickly handled the three Dregs on the ground. His auto rifle buzzed loudly, two of the Dregs being rapidly knocked back by its fire before falling dead to the ground. His rifle clicked empty as the final Dreg ran behind one of the rusted trucks to hide itself. He released the empty magazine as Kain transmitted a new one into his open hand. Reloading the weapon, he followed it. Suddenly a loud screech came from above him. The Dreg had climbed on top and tried to pounce on Aro. Sticking out his open palm and using just the force of his will, the Dreg disappeared in a flash of violet light, it's life energy being absorbed into Aro. An ability that once frightened him, he now used without a second thought.

An orange glowing orb flew over his head into the building behind the truck, exploding a second later. He could hear the sniper Vandal screaming before falling silent.

Peeking over, he saw the smoldering, flaming mass that was the Vandal's corpse. "You ok?" Asura asked, dropping next to him.

"Yeah. Crona?"

"Yeah I'm alright. Took out a group of Fallen hiding back here."

"How long are we supposed to do this?"

"At least a week. We just keep this place free of Fallen." She answered.

"A week? Are you serious?" Asura said, hoping she wasn't.

"You told me you read the mission specs…" Spirit said.

"I read the important parts!" He exclaimed.

"Well now you know. So let's just try to make it through."

Soon a week passed. Any Fallen that tried to drop in and reclaim the area were effortlessly cut down by the team Hunter, Titan and Warlock. Their Ghosts called their ships down to pick them up and they prepared to head back to the City, only for a Amanda Holliday to catch them.

"Hey guys! Been a little while. How was your stay in the Cosmodrome?"

"It wasn't that bad…" Aro started.

"It was horrible." came Asura's voice through the comms.

Amanda laughed and said, "Well the good news you only have to stay a little longer. I found a hyperdrive that matches your ship, Aro. It's where you found your ship originally. Find it, bring it back and I can get it hooked up."

"That's great to hear. We'll get on it."

"There's also bad news…"

"Yeah I figured." Crona sighed.

"Commander Zavala also wanted me to relay to you that the House of Devils' Archon has been causing much more trouble than usual. It needs to be put down."

"House of Devils?" Aro asked.

"The Fallen are split into certain houses of nobility. The House of Devils are stationed on Earth." Crona explained.

"Call me back when you finish. I'll see you guys later." Holliday said, the transmission cutting.

Asura sighed, "Alright. Let's get back. Where is the Archon?"

"Dock 13. Where we faced all those Fallen before the Divide." Crona said.

"And the same place we found our ship…" Kain whispered, realization hitting it and Aro at the same time. His memory flashed back the massive monster roaring after their ship on the first day of Aro's new life.

"I had a feeling we'd have to face that thing. Get ready, I'm dropping you off again." Kain said. They preceded to land back in the Cosmodrome and started to move back towards the Dock.

"So you've seen the Archon?" Asura said.

"Yeah. Holliday was right. It is bad news."

"Let's make it for him then." Crona said as they entered the Dock.

After a week, the Fallen had reclaimed the Dock. "Take them out. It'll piss off the Archon" Sol said.

"And for some reason, we want that."

After the last were shot down, Asura scanned the area asking, "Where are you, Devil?"

Their answer came in the form of loud stomping.

"Where is that coming from?" Aro asked, spinning around to check their backs.

"Start moving back!" Crona said as more Fallen dropped from the ceiling. The stomping got louder and louder, almost deafening.

Something was getting closer.

Something big.


	8. Restoration Part II

_Restoration Part II_

* * *

_"IT'S IN THE WALLS!"_

Almost as a response to Kain's exclamation, a much bigger version of a Vandal stuck its head through the massive hole in the wall directly in front of them. Using its four long arms, it clawed its way out, landing on the ground with a boom. It roared its challenge, lifted the massive gun in its hand and started shooting, large flaming bolts of metal flying above them.

"Take cover!" Crona yelled. Aro and Asura didn't need to be told twice. Running behind the entrance, Asura asked, "Is that him?"

"Yeah that's him. We must have overdone the pissing him off part by killing his soldiers."

"He can discuss it with them in person." Asura said, coming out from behind his cover. He took aim at the Archon's head and started firing. He continuously fired and reloaded, jumping around to dodge its return fire.

"Help him! I'll handle the other Fallen!" Crona commanded.

Doing as she said, Aro switched to his Fusion Rifle and clicked the trigger. The muzzle lit up a bright blue as the weapon charged energy. In a loud burst, the rifle discharged a blue beam of light that splashed against the Archon, knocking him back. The blast to its head sent it reeling back but it quickly righted itself and stomped the ground, knocking Aro and Asura off balance. They were giving it everything they had but it was showing no signs of slowing down.

Soon, their guns clicked empty. "I need ammo!" Aro yelled to Kain. "I haven't been able to pick any viable ammo up!" came its response.

"Look out!" Spirit warned. Both Aro and Asura jumped up into the air to avoid the Devil Archon's massive fist, which came crashing down on the spot where they had been.

"Grenades! Together!" Aro yelled when they were on the ground again. Asura yanked a plain metal orb from his belt and a second later, it was glowing orange, charged with his Solar Light. Aro opened his palm and a glowing violet orb made of pure Void energy manifested inside it, a grenade specific to Voidwalker Warlocks. They launched both at the Archon.

"_EYES DOWN_!" they heard Crona yell. Both took cover and obliged but not before seeing a glowing Arc blue sphere fly over their heads towards the creature. All three grenades exploded in a flash of light and noise, throwing copious amounts of smoke and dust into the air. The area went silent, with only purple light swirling through the air. An aftereffect of Aro's grenade.

"Think he's done for?" Asura asked, kicking away the metal husk of a dead Shank.

"After that, he better be." Crona said joining them.

Asura groaned and grabbed his head, "Ahhh. Aaah! Damn it. Not now!" The others did not have time to react to his outburst. A large claw came and smashed at them. Aro and Crona jumped and glided back just in time.

Asura was still preoccupied.

"_ASURA_!" Aro yelled landing on the ground and trying to run towards him but it was too late. The Archon swiped at Asura with the force of a speeding truck. Asura flew back and slammed into the wall, his body being impaled through the chest by a rusty pipe. He looked down and weakly grabbed at the pipe now inside his chest, completely in shock. He groaned, fluid gurgling in his mouth over the comms before going limp.

Aro and Crona were stunned.

The Archon resumed shooting at them. Snapping himself out of his shock, Aro grabbed still stunned Crona and yanked her back towards their original hiding place, throwing her against the wall.

"Crona, what do we do?" Aro panted.

She didn't respond, staring at the ground. Aro shook her, yelling her name as he heard the Archon laugh ahead of them and slowly move closer.

"We all threw grenades at it. How is this possible? My flashbang. It should be blind and deaf right now." Crona started whispering. She was shaking.

"Asura. We got to get to him. Snap out of it! We need to figure out what to do." Aro said, waving in her face.

"I don't know. I've never faced monster like this before. Not even in simulation. I don't know. I'm sorry, I don't know. Asura. Oh my god, Asura." she stammered.

"Damn it." Aro whispered. Crona was still reeling, the Archon was closing in and his auto was out of ammo. Checking where Asura was killed, to his surprise, he saw nothing. Looking around, he saw Asura crouching on the ground and slowly rise up. Spirit had revived him.

"Asura's up!" Aro said, prompting Crona to look for herself, "Asura!" Aro said trying to get his attention. Either he didn't hear or was still dazed, but Asura did not respond. The Archon turned around to see Asura standing again. It started to move towards him, to take him down again. Asura just stared at it, absent minded.

Aro got an idea. "Crona get up and get behind the Archon. Shoot it! Get its attention!" Aro said, taking command. Nodding, she stood up and they ran. Switching to his Fusion rifle, which still had a little ammo left, they started firing at the back of its head, causing it to turn around and start moving towards Crona and Aro and away from Asura. Suddenly Asura's arm flew out in an arching motion. His knife embedded itself in one of the crevices of the Archon's mask, sinking into the soft flesh protected by the metal.

It roared in rage and pain, turning back towards Asura. Asura, who still remained silent and still, suddenly broke into a hard sprint. He leaped into the air and landed on the Archon's head, grabbing his knife and using it to tear the plate covering its mouth.

Sheathing the knife, he raised his hand into the air. His hand exploded in bright light and a flaming pistol manifested into it Asura was bathed in a golden, flaming light that illuminated the entire Dock. Two of the Archon's four massive arms came at him. In a loud ringing boom, Asura aimed and shot the gun twice at each arm, blowing them off completely and reducing them to ash. The Archon thrashed around, roaring, trying desperately to throw the Hunter off of him. Suddenly it's roar was muffled as Asura placed the muzzle of the Golden Gun deep into its gaping maw. He looked down into the Archon's eyes and saw pain, rage…even fear.

It was its fear that gave Asura a sick pleasure. A small laugh buzzed in his throat.

He clicked the trigger. A loud boom rang in the air, muffled by the Archon's mouth. It jerked violently and and exploded in a burst of orange light. It's entrails flew everywhere, on fire for a few seconds before being reduced to dust. Asura fell to the ground, landing on his feet, still silent.

"Asura!" Aro yelled as he and Crona ran to him. "That was amazi-"

"_No stay away from him!_" He was interrupted by Spirit as he got close to Asura, barely dodging back as Asura swiped his knife at his throat.

"Woah! Asura, it's me. Aro, your friend." He said cautiously. Asura jumped at him only to be caught by Crona and thrown to the ground.

"I don't know what it is but it isn't Asura, it's something else entirely." Spirit said.

Suddenly Asura yelled out, clutching his head in his hands again before dropping to the ground.

"Asura!" Aro said, running over to him.

"He's fine. Just unconscious." Crona's Ghost said examining him.

"Aro. Over there." Kain said, appearing and flying over to the hole. Passing Asura over to Crona, he followed Kain to the hole the Archon came out of. Inside was a large, whirring, blinking machine.

"That's the warp drive Holliday detected before. I'll send it to the ship." In a flash of light, it disappeared.

"We better get back too." Aro said.

"Alright." Crona said softly before Sol and Spirit teleported them up to their respective ships. Ensuring the area was clear, Aro and Kain followed.

* * *

A few hours later, they were back at the Tower. "Get him to a medic. I'll meet you there." Aro said. Crona silently obeyed. Heading towards the Hangar, he met up with Amanda and handed her the warp drive.

Scanning it quickly, she said, "Yep! This is it. Good job. The Archon dead?"

"Yeah. Asura finished it off. He used this flaming gun attack. Never seen it before."

"Flaming gun? That's the uh"- she said snapping her fingers. "The Golden Gun!So he learned to use it?"

"Uh…yeah." He answered, deciding not to tell her about Asura's "problem".

"Well if you ask me, Voidwalker Warlocks have the best one. I'll get straight to hooking this up. You just relax. I'll make sure it takes a few days so they can't send you guys on missions."

"Thanks Amanda." Aro laughed. With that, he and Kain started moving towards the sick bay. Finding out where Asura was checked in, they entered the room to see Asura awake and sitting up.

"Hey, you're back. How are you?" He asked his friend.

"Fine. I think so at least. Crona told me I tried to attack you. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, don't worry about me."

There was a knock on the door and to the trio's surprise, Commander Zavala walked in, "I heard you three had come back." he said, taking the stool next to a surprised Crona. "Is the Archon dead?" he asked. "Yes sir. Asura killed him. With the-"

"The Golden Gun. I heard. Word going around is you're the first of your class to get it. And perfect on the first try. You should be proud Asura."

"Thank you sir but it wasn't exactly me that did it."

"...I don't really understand." Zavala said confused.

"I've been having some kind of problem with my circuitry since Spirit brought me back. I get flashing images mostly, almost like memories. But today, I blacked out. According to me at least. According to Crona, I killed the Archon."

"Hmm." Zavala said, deep in thought.

"Do you think its memories of his past life?" Crona asked softly.

"It shouldn't be. Your memories should have been completely erased and even if they weren't, they shouldn't be taking you over to this extent. That and the fact that if they were memories, how did you know how to use the Golden Gun? I'll talk to the other Vanguards and the Speaker about it. In the meantime, you'll stay here. You can't be going on the field having blackouts."

"Yes sir." Asura said.

"Have you decided an official squad leader yet?" Zavala asked.

"Uh no but honestly, I recommend Crona here. She got us through the week in the Cosmodrome." Aro said.

"I second that." Asura added in.

"I decline." She said softly.

There was a stunned silence "Why? You're the best fit for the job." Aro said.

"Is something wrong Crona?" Zavala asked worried. She was silent for a minute and then spoke softly, "I froze up. When Asura went down, I didn't know what to do."

She sounded ashamed to be saying this, especially in front of her hero of a father, "I could have gotten everyone really hurt. I don't think I can handle the position. I'm sorry father. I nominate Aro. When the situation started getting rough, I buckled under the pressure. He didn't. Aro would do much better than I would. I'm sorry." her head lowered in shame.

"You don't need to be." Zavala replied softly. Then turning to Asura, he asked, "Asura, do you want to change your vote?"

"Yes sir. I nominate Aro too."

"Arochukwu?" Zavala asked him.

After about a minute of silence and figuring no way out, he sighed and said, "Yes sir. I accept."

"Alright then. Congratulations. I'll get back to work then and remember, Asura you stay here. Rest up guys, this is the first of many."

"Yes sir." All three said. With a nod, Zavala walked out, closing the door softly. After about 5 minutes of silence, Asura spoke up, "You guys should go get some rest. I'll be out of here when they release me."

"Ok then." Aro patting Asura on the shoulder before he and Crona got up and left. Crona was silent the whole way out and with a small goodbye, quickly left. Aro made it up back to his room. He divested himself of his uniform, falling asleep naked on his bed, too tired to even bother with clothes.


	9. The Dark Within

_The Dark Within_

* * *

Arochukwu jerked from sleep, sweating and panting. The same images. The same damn images. After their fight against the Archon, the nightmares started coming back and they seemed to be making up for lost time. He was losing sleep and quite possibly his mind along with it.

Struggling to calm down, he slipped on sweatpants and went to the bathroom, splashing cold water onto his face. It was still dark out, three in the morning.

Picking up a ball he was given to practice with, he got back on the bed, levitating the ball with the force of his mind. If he wasn't training, he was visiting Asura. If not with Asura, he was sleeping. Both Asura and sleep were not options right now so he practiced. A distraction was a distraction.

This went on for a week. But his little vacation soon came to an end. His Ghost chirped up one morning that they had another mission in the Cosmodrome. He wasn't up for it but it was obvious he didn't have a choice. Making the last preparations for the mission, he and Crona met up to see Asura before leaving.

"Hey guys. Heard you all will be heading out soon." Asura said as the two entered.

"Yeah but as far as I know it's just the 2 of us. Any news on recovery?" Aro relied, sitting down next to the bed.

` "Yeah actually. They're working on some kind of microchip that should suppress the other "Asura". I should be back in the field pretty soon."

"Have they found any explanations?" Crona asked.

Asura was silent for a second. "No. But they said the most likely reason is that my past self was never completely erased. Both the medics and the Vanguard said they've never seen a situation like this."

"I talked to Amara, Zea and Remus, described the exact way I performed the process of bringing Asura and they said I did everything right." Spirit said softly.

"Then why do you still blame yourself?" Asura asked Spirit, "I told you, we'll get through this together."

"Remus?" Aro asked.

"Cayde's Ghost.."

With that, there was a small knock on the door and to their surprise, Kayla, Erek and Daniel walked through the door.

"Hey you guys. We heard what happened. Just wanted to see if you were alright." Kayla said, taking a seat next to Crona.

"How did you hear? We haven't told anyone." Crona asked.

"We didn't hear much from other Guardians but I overheard the Vanguard discussing it." Daniel said softly.

"We also overheard that Crona and Arochukwu would be going on another mission to the Cosmodrome. If you all need a third, I'm available. Cayde has already assigned me as a substitute for Asura until he gets better" Erek announced.

"Thank you. We could use all the help we can get."

"Ok then, here's the mission specs." Erek said, pulling a folder out of the bag on his shoulder, "They simply want us to investigate some strange activity. Apparently something has got the Fallen severely worked up."

"The activity does seem familiar to activity we regularly pick up when we patrol the Moon but it is unlikely that it's caused by who we think it is. The Vanguard simply want to remove all doubts." Erek's Ghost, Eren chirped. With that, a hologram of the Cosmodrome appeared from its eye. A certain area blipped on the holographic screen.

"Right here. In the Skywatch. Closest we can get though is the Mothyards right here." Erek said pointing to two places on the map.

"Kain and Sol, I've sent it to both of you." Eren said.

"Yeah I got it." Kain said.

"Same here." Sol confirmed.

"Then we leave in half an hour. We should be back tomorrow." Erek said, standing, "I'll meet you guys in the Hangar. Get well Asura. I can't keep doing your job for you."

"I have to get back to the labs. I'll check in on you later Asura." Kayla said. Daniel simply patted him on the shoulder.

"Good luck you guys." Asura called out as everyone left. Aro went back to his room, gathering everything he might need for the journey.

* * *

"You ready?" Kain asked.

"As I'll ever be." With that Aro's clothing began to glow as Kain replaced it with his armor. He chose his weapons and had Kain send them to his ship. Leaving his room, he caught up with Crona and Erek who were slightly ahead of him.

Erek, seeing him first, waved him over. "Everything set?" The Awoken asked when he arrived.

"Yeah. Let's move out." Then Aro felt the same weightless feeling that he was growing accustomed to as Kain teleported them into the ship.

"Starting up and initiating launch sequence." The 3 jumpships slowly turned towards the openings. Once the five second countdown completed, the ships blasted through the openings and rocketed into the sky.

"Setting course for the Mothyards. It'll be a few hours."

"Alright." Aro leaned back in his chair.

"And if I were you, I'd stay awake. We don't need you being distracted by your nightmares. Which you need to discuss with someone soon." That was okay with him. Aro was content to stare out the window the whole time.

"Alright we're here." Kain said. Aro's helmet appeared over his head and Kain sent him down. The name of the area appeared in the bottom left corner of his helmet screen.

_The Mothyards. Old Russia, Earth._

Erek and Crona had dropped in a second before them and we're doing a final check of their gear. The Mothyards looked like a graveyard for massive airplanes and old rocket ships. Nearly everything had rusted over and some had plants growing in them. About 130m ahead was a massive structure with a large satellite at its roof.

"I'm assuming that's the Skywatch."

"Yessir." Erek said.

"Are we supposed to walk?"

"I would hope not. You don't have access to your Sparrows down here?"

"We never got a chance to link them up." Crona said.

"Found a point in the grid we can tap into. I placed a marker on your maps." Erek's Ghost said.

"Let's get to it then."

The location was an old storage shed at the top of a small hill. Both Crona and Aro let their Ghost's out to scan the computer inside and after a few seconds, Sol chirped up, "We're linked!" With that, the sound of a loud engine was heard, soon joined by two others. In a flash of light, a one man vehicle appeared in front of Erek. It hovered off the ground and its burners lit the dark area a warm orange.

Two more appeared in front of Crona and Aro. "You two do know how these work right?" Erek asked hopping on his.

"Just in training." Aro said doing the same.

"Well perfect time to practice. Let's go." Erek twisted the handles and the Sparrow rocketed off. Crona and Aro followed closely behind. Within minutes, they had reached the entrance of the Skywatch. And it was heavily guarded. Two Vandals and a slightly bigger one. This bigger one could be confused for an Archon if it were a few feet taller. It had two swords in its upper hands, a red cape flowing from its back and was surrounded in a glowing blue shield. They hopped off their Sparrows, which after a few seconds, was teleported back to their respective jumpships.

"Is that Arc energy? What is that thing? It can't be an Archon." Aro said once they got a bit closer.

"It's a Fallen Captain. We went over this in training Aro." Crona said annoyed.

"Well why don't I remember them?"

"Cause you and Asura were sleeping!"

"If you two are finished, take down the Vandals. The Captain is mine." Erek said, crouching down. After a moment, he disappeared into thin air. But the tracker was still showing his position. He was moving towards the Captain. His marker got closer and closer until he struck. A loud crack shook everyone, even the Fallen guards. The Captain's shield dropped as Erek reappeared holding a smoking Shotgun. Cocking it to load the next round and release the previous one , Erek fired again. The Captain stumbled back dazed by the blast. Cocking it a third time, he prepared to finish the job but the Captain wasn't falling for the same trick again. In a flash of blue light, the Captain teleported away from the Hunter. Erek fired the Shotgun's last round into empty air. The Captain tried to bring down one of its massive swords to cleave Erek in half but Erek was much smarter. He leapt forward, disappearing and then reappearing out of nothingness for the second time, imitating the move the Captain used. He closed the distance with his knife out, sticking it right into the Captain's eyes. It didn't have time to even scream before Erek yanked his knife out, switched to his Pulse Rifle and took it down permanently. By the time the battle was over, Aro and Crona had already dealt with the Vandals.

"You two good?" Erek asked.

"That was amazing."

"You know of the Gunslinger class of Hunters correct? We have a second one we can switch back and forth between called the Bladedancer. Gives us a whole new set of abilities, like Camouflage and the Blink Strike. You'll start training in your second class when you reach Rank 2. Let's keep moving before someone comes to check on these three." Erek said. Reloading his Shotgun one by one, he readied the next shot and switched back to his Pulse Rifle before moving in, prompting Crona and Aro to follow close behind. The building was just as run down as all the others they had visited here in the Cosmodrome. Scratches and drawings in the concrete, wall frames with the actual walls torn from them. Even the floor was ripped apart, exposing the wires in the ground. The Fallen wanted anything that wasn't tied down. And even if it was, they'd go to ridiculous lengths to untie it.

Continuing on, they entered an extremely dark room. "This is where the signals were coming from. Eren, we need light." Eren appeared, light flashing from its eye. Kain and Sol did the same.

"It's stronger on the other side of the door. I'll start unlocking it." Sol said, flying over. A bright beam started to come from its eye as it messed with the electronic lock, "Wow. The Fallen really did not want anyone getting in here. Or out. It's done."

The door creaked open. On the other side was some kind of black substance growing off the walls that gave off an eerie green light.

"Erek. Do these look familiar to you?" Eren asked worried.

"Fuck. Yeah they do. But we should move ahead. Make sure…"

"Make sure of what, Erek?" Aro asked, a bit frightened by Erek's sudden lack of composure.

Erek kept walking without answer.

"Erek. Talk to us"

"Aro, keep your voice down and both of you get down! All Ghosts, lights off."

Everyone quickly obeyed. The three slowly and carefully moved up the flight of stairs in the pitch black darkness. They heard scratching all around them. They were completely unable to pinpoint where it was coming from. Aro kept to the back to make sure nothing snuck up on them. The small scratching sounds towards the front got closer and closer, causing the trio to pause in their tracks. The apprehension was thick in the air as it continued to get closer. Suddenly, two large rats ran past their feet causing the trio to jump. Aro and Crona slightly relaxed and let go a sigh of relief.

Erek knew better.

He suddenly jumped and rolled out of the path of a charging threat. An eyeless monster pounced on to his empty space, knocking into Crona who fell into Aro, causing the three to roll down the small stairs. The creature screeched in her face, exposing its many tiny sharp teeth. It had no eyes...or insides. It was brownish gray and rotting to the core with long legs, long arms and long claws. Or at least *_they* _did not. The monster was followed by several more of its own kind and they all charged at Erek. Crona swiftly delivered an Arc powered strike to its face and it burst into lightning and ashes. She rolled off Aro, retrieved her gun and went to assist Erek. Joining them, Aro began to shoot them down as they tried to swarm the trio of Guardians.

"What the hell are these things?" he yelled over the buzz of gunfire.

"The Hive. These ones are called Thrall. But they are never alone…Acolytes!"

As a confirmation, a violet burst burst of Void energy splashed against the wall behind them. Focusing his attention forward, Aro saw the origin of the attack. Two more creatures appeared. Both looked just as dead and rotten as the Thrall but wore more armored. Their most distinct feature were their closed, exposed jaws and their 3 green, glowing eyes. Aro quickly began shooting them down, both being pushed back by the impact of the bullets before bursting into ash and dust.

"Don't focus on fighting them! Just get through! Follow me!" Erek yelled, leaping over one of the Thrall.

Crona and Aro followed, pausing only to clear the way of any Hive Thrall or Acolyte that got in their way. All three ran through an open doorway, which Erek proceeded to shoot the controls as a Thrall tried to jump through. The door fell, crushing it.

"I had a goddamn feeling. Kayla was right. She always is." Erek laughed as the three caught their breath, "C'mon we have to keep going."

'

"Why? Didn't we find the source of the disturbances?" Crona asked.

"The strongest signals are coming from down here. And now that we know it's the Hive, I have a bad feeling their being led by something. Any of you happen to have any Solar weapons?"

Crona switched to her Shotgun. Erek looked skeptical but shrugged his shoulders and said, "It'll have to do."

Moving ahead, the reached a large opening with lighting. Besides a few Fallen, it seemed pretty deserted, until about five Hive Thrall and four Acolytes sprinted past them towards the Fallen. Followed by a large, screaming creature, surrounded in an orange energy bubble. Erek threw himself against the wall at the sight, Aro and Crona following suit.

Peeking through the broken glass, Crona saw the flying Hive monster with brown, robe like structures that seemed more of its skin than actual clothing. Screaming again, the monster raised its bone thin arms and released white balls of energy at the group of Fallen, quickly reducing their numbers. The Thrall picked off the rest. "She's the source. The Hive Wizard. At least we don't need to worry about the Fallen anymore because we need to take her down. Move out!" And with that, Erek raised his head to the window and immediately shot down a Thrall.

The other four ran at them, the Wizard close behind. Crona flung a grenade at the Thrall. It bounced off the head of one before exploding. Whoever wasn't decimated by the blast was blinded and deafened, making them an easy target to be gunned down. Now only the Wizard and four Acolytes were left.

"You two, take that thing down! It's shield is Solar powered so it's weak against Solar weapons." Erek said, rounding one of the gas tanks to flank the Acolytes. Bolts of energy flew at their heads but both Guardians dodged to the sides just in time. The Wizard screamed at them, daring them to come back.

Aro rolled and landed on his feet, instantly turning around and launching a grenade at the monster which exploded on contact. The creature writhed and shrieked in pain being caught in the vortex, allowing for Aro to try and get in close.

The creature was smarter. With a wave of her hand, a black fog appeared around Aro that severely disoriented him. He could suddenly hear the blood rushing in his ears and felt his heartbeat start to slow down and get slower and slower. Then flashing images ran right before his eyes. The giant, invisible monsters. The small grabby ones. The seven figures who stood at the top with the massive dark cloud above them. These were his nightmares. But he was awake. How was this possible?

Aro dropped to his knees, struggling to breathe. Through is disorientation, he saw Erek glowing bright blue, lightning arcing off of him as he fought the Acolytes. His motion as he struck the monsters with his Arc charged blade was almost fluid. He would launch himself at one and immediately spin around and cut into another before the first was completely reduced to ash. The Arc Blade attack. Aro tried his hardest to focus on the Bladedancer in an effort to remain conscious. But the Wizard flew in front of Aro's gaze, its grotesque face blocking Aro's vision. It's claws were raised at him but did not touch him. Aro started hearing whispering in his head from many different voices. Nothing they said was intelligible at first but they soon started to say one thing. The same thing he heard almost every night.

"_The Gate is Risen. The Gate is Risen. The Gate is Risen."_

Aro dropped to the ground, completely paralyzed. He didn't see Crona climb up the gas tank to get above the the Wizard, switched to her Solar powered Shotgun and fired. The monster's shield dissipated instantly, forcing it to drop the fog of Darkness it was maintaining around Aro in order to deal with a different threat. Aro remained, twitching on the ground. Crona fired again, sending the Wizard reeling back and trying to fly away until Crona leaped off the tower and fired another shot to finally take the monster down. Just like the other Hive, it burst into flames and disappeared as dust into the wind. Erek and Crona ran up to the unmoving Aro.

"Arochukwu? Aro wake up." Erek said smacking the side of his helmet softly.

Aro moaned in pain, still unable to move. "Kain get him back to the ship and head towards the Tower ASAP. We're done here. We need to report back."

Erek was then teleported back to his ship followed by Crona and and a barely conscious Aro who remained barely conscious the whole way back.


	10. A Beautiful Broken Family

_A Beautiful Broken Family_

* * *

"Erek and Crona reporting in." Erek said in a professional tone that few were used to hearing from him.

The three had gotten back to the Tower and while Aro was transported to sick bay, Erek and Crona reported to Captain Cayde in the Hall of Guardians.

"Just the two of you?"

"Aro is slightly incapacitated at the moment. The medics are checking him out now." Crona said.

"Well what happened?"

"Kayla was...right." Erek seethed.

"I usually am." came her voice behind them. Kayla, Zavala and Ikora Rey came up behind them, being called by Cayde.

"Do you really have to be so damn smug about it?" Erek said, irritated at her smugness.

"Aww did I bruised da big stwong man's ego, aww you poor whittle baby." Kayla said, pinching Erek's cheek and babbling to him until he smacked her hand away, earning a laugh from Kayla. Despite himself, Cayde-6 couldn't help but laugh as well.

"Cayde?" Ikora said sternly but slightly amused.

"What? It was funny. Aww c'mon Zavala, you laughed too." Zavala turned his head away from the group to not let Ikora catch him struggling to hold back laughter. Crona allowed herself a small smile. It was rare to see her father acting like this.

"Moving on," Ikora said, "So it really was the Hive. I don't understand, they have a natural aversion to sunlight. What the hell are they doing on Earth?"

"Maybe the Darkness is closer than we thought. Kayla said. "Where's Arochukwu?" she asked after a second.

"In the sick bay. There was a Hive Wizard leading them and it got deep into his head."

"Guardians, especially Warlocks, have natural resistance to them. What exactly did this one do?" Zavala's asked.

"We don't know. But according to his Ghost, he was whispering something about a Gate the whole way back" Crona answered.

"A Gate?"

"Yes. Kain also said that he had been having nightmares about it. Something about a massive space just filled with monsters. And standing above them, seven humanoid figures with a dark mass above their heads. The mass would yell, "_The Gate is Risen._" The monsters would charge and try to attack him and then he'd wake up."

"Hmm. That is strange. I'll talk to the Speaker about it. Hopefully it's not the same as Asura."

Ikora Rey said before walking out. "Thanks and good job guys, you're dismissed." Cayde said. "Well Erek, you're not. Situation on the Moon, needs to be handled. You up for it?"

"Eh. I can manage another one."

"Then have fun." Cayde said before returning to his work. After a second of silence, Commander Zavala said, "Come Crona. I'll walk you out."

"Yes sir." The journey remained in silence until Zavala spoke up, "So…both Asura and Arochukwu huh?"

"Yes sir. I don't know why this keeps happening."

"When it's just us, you're allowed to call me Father." Zavala said touching her shoulder.

They reached and stopped at the exit. "You're welcome to talk to me anytime. I'll always make time for you." He turned around to leave before turning back and saying, "Don't worry about Asura and Aro. And it's not your fault. Just be happy and proud you brought them back. A lot of Guardians cannot say the same. But you're not a lot of Guardians are you?"

Crona smiled at that, prompting a larger one from her father. "Go talk to your mom soon. I'll see you later." With that Zavala went back to work and Crona decided to take his advice. But after she saw to her teammates.

Aro groggily opened his eyes, completely unaware of where he was. After his senses came to him, so did the memories. The Thrall, the Acolytes and especially the Wizard. He noticed the hospital bed and a dozing off Asura and Crona seated next to him. Kain flew in front of his face and said, "Glad you can join us."

At the sound of Kain's voice, Asura and Crona woke up. "Hey. Feeling better?"

"I feel fine. What about you?" Aro asked, sitting up.

Asura pointed to a certain spot in the middle of the left side of his head, "They installed the chip and said I was good to go after a few tests. That was a few days ago, when you guys returned. I haven't had an episode since." he said.

"Why didn't you tell us about your nightmares, Aro?" Crona spoke up.

"Because I didn't think it would be a problem, much less one that puts me in the damn hospital."

"Well now you're here. And when you get the chance, you need to go see Master Ikora. She says she can help you manage them."

"I'll get on it when they let me go."

"You do that. We're off." Crona and Asura stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"There's some kind of SOS signal coming from the Cosmodrome. We're being sent with Kayla to check it out." Asura mumbled, seeming the exact opposite of excited. They both got up to leave but before walking out and closing the door, Asura stuck his head in and said, "Erek's been gone for a little while but he told me to ask you to check in on Daniel when you can. Get him out of his room. He apparently never leaves unless coerced so just do that when you can."

"Why me?"

"Something about the way Daniel looks at you, I don't know, they had just finished closing my head up."

"Alright then. Good luck" Aro said with a sigh. The door clicked close and the room was silent again except for Kain's flying around.

"Hey what does he mean by "the way Daniel looks at me."?" Aro asked.

"I'm not sure actually. It's a human thing so I'm not going to try to comprehend it."

They talked for a few more minutes until a doctor walked in. An Awoken female with a bright smile, soft voice and gentle hands. She questioned him to see if everything was alright and within an hour, Aro was back on his feet. With nothing to really do, he decided to keep his promise to Erek and check in on Daniel. Before he could even ask, Kain told him Daniel's location by tracking Caesar, his Ghost. Daniel was down in his room and quickly arriving there, Aro raised his hand to knock, only for the door to open automatically.

"He must like leaving it unlocked," Aro thought.

Daniel in the back left corner of the dark room, twisting a screwdriver into a black Scout Rifle. He hadn't noticed him yet.

In spite of himself, Aro couldn't help but take notice how he was wearing nothing but shorts and a black shirt and way his back muscles flexed and relaxed with the delicate movement of the screwdriver. Aro wondered if it was a result of training or was he just naturally that big.

"_That. That's how he looks at you. The way you are staring now."_ Kain said inside Aro's head.

Shaking his head to clear it, my cleared his throat. Daniel paused and then went back to work saying, "May I help you?" in his usually gruff voice.

"Erek asked me to come see you. Get you out of here."

A pause with just the sound of Daniel working on his gun. "Erek put you up to this?"

"Yes he did."

Another pause and then a small chuckle. "Erek. Fucking bastard."

Standing to his full height, "I do have things I need to do today. In the City. And Erek just roped you into coming with me. Congrats."

He went into his room and came out wearing jeans and a black jacket. "Let's go." He said, moving past Aro and heading for the door. Aro silently followed.

They took the elevator down to the bottom and walked out. The first sight to meet Aro was the Traveler, floating lifelessly above the City, the sun casting its massive shadow over the entire City.

"Is this your first time on the ground?" Daniel asked.

Still staring at the Traveler, Aro nodded.

"Well you'll get used to it. This way."

They walked for a good twenty minutes. Throughout the journey, Aro encountered a multitude of different people from Human to Exo to Awoken. All seemingly enjoying themselves with no worry of what was beyond the Walls that protected them. Above them, a Guardian ship flew past, garnering a few points, laughs and guesses of where it was headed.

Daniel led them in silence to a large, well kept building with lush grasses and trees decorating the surroundings. Out in front were about fifteen young children holding bags and energetically jumping around and talking.

_"This is the school we passed when we first left for the Cosmodrome."_ Kain said in Aro's head. _"Why are we here?"_

"DANNY!" The exclamation earned the attention of both men as a little girl ran out of the crowd and threw herself at Daniel.

Daniel's usual scowl was gone, replaced by a beaming smile as he picked the girl up and tossed her into the air. She squealed with excitement.

"How was school, Maya?"

"It was great. I got another A on my project." May said, obviously excited to show off.

Acting impressed but obviously unsurprised, Daniel said, "Really? Well that deserves a reward doesn't it? You want to grab ice cream and tell me about it?"

Maya's brilliant smile told them that her day just got even better.

Daniel turned around and waved to Aro, "Aro, this is my sister, Maya and Maya, this is my…friend, Aro." Aro noticed his little pause but smiled and nodded at the girl nonetheless.

"Are you a Guardian too?"

"Uh yes. Yes I am."

"What class?"

"I'm a Warlock."

"Oh that's so cool! Can you fly?"

"Not right now." Daniel interrupted, "No powers without permission, Maya."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Sorry. Do you want to come with us to get ice cream?"

"Umm if that's ok with Daniel."

"I have no problem with it. Besides, she won't take no for an answer and like you promised Erek, you're stuck with me for the day." With that, Daniel started walking, Aro quickly following.

"_Aro_." Kain whispered inside his head.

"_What?_"

"_You're staring again._"

Taking a deep breath, he looked up at the sky or at buildings to distract himself. The parlor was a good ten minute walk and Maya talked the whole way. She had Aro wondering how she breathed, talking so much. Daniel didn't seem to mind. He just seemed to enjoy hearing her voice. He interrupted her at one point and asked, "Where's your bracelet?"

"Oh sorry. I put it inside my bag." she said reaching in it and pulling out a simple gold band which she promptly slipped onto her wrist.

"Alright. Make sure you keep it safe ok?"

"I will." Aro observed silently, soon noticing the gold watch wrapped around Daniel's wrist but he asked nothing about it.

They reached the parlor, obtained their food and sat down near a window, which Aro spent most of the time looking out of, observing what was going on in the outside world.

"So you wanna show me your project now?" Danny said, mouth full.

"Oh yeah." Maya said, ruffling through her bag and pulling out a folder, "The teacher had has choose a topic about our family to do research on and I chose history. I even found an old map of the world before the Collapse and even before the Golden Age. Aro look!" She promptly pulled out a printed map and pointed to an island on the far right side of the map. Aro took his attention away from the outside world just long enough to look at what she was referring to. The island was next to a massive landmass Aro remembered as being called Asia. It was actually where the Cosmodrome was located This continent dwarfed the most of the others and was only slightly bigger than the continent in the middle.

"That's um," Aro said, snapping his fingers to help himself remember, "Japan, right? You're of Japanese descent."

"Mmhm. Our family kept extensive records of our history and went through great lengths to preserve it." Daniel said. They sat and talked for about twenty more minutes. It had only been a little while but Maya seemed to already take a liking to Aro. She asked about Erek and Kayla as well as who Aro was teamed up with. She was an incredibly intelligent and talkative little girl. There seemed to be no way for even someone as dark and brooding as Daniel to maintain anything but a smile around her.

Whenever she did pause in talking, she would stare up at the Traveler. "Have they found out why it is sick yet?" Maya asked softly.

"The Speaker is working on it and Erek is on the Moon investigating right now." Daniel asked.

"What do you know about the Traveler, Maya?" Aro asked.

"I know it's not feeling well but that's about it."

"So it's alive? How do you know"

"Yeah and I don't know how to explain it. I just know. I feel like it sees me as a friend and is looking for help." She said, unsure if her answer was adequate but Aro was now intrigued.

They continued to talk until Daniel stood up and told Maya it was time to get her home. In the tone he said it in, he simply wanted the questions to stop. Aro got the message.


	11. A Beautiful Broken Family Part II

_A Beautiful Broken Family Part II_

* * *

Aro and Daniel walked Maya home in silence. The sun was starting to go down and the temperature was starting to drop to the point where Maya started shivering. Daniel promptly took off his coat and wrapped it around her, picking her up and carrying her the rest of the way. She sleepily placed her head on his shoulder, giving Aro a small smile and receiving one in return. They moved closer to a very large house. Standing at about three stories tall with several vehicles parked outside of it. It was luxurious and beautifully decorated. Whoever owned it obviously did very well for themselves. Walking up to the door, Daniel placed his hand against a small pad. Light shone from it before a lock clicked, followed by a feminine mechanical voice saying, "Welcome."

"Christine! Tarlowe! I'm home!" Maya called out, jumping from Daniel's arms and running through the opening doors. The house looked even bigger on the inside and much more ornate. A smiling young woman came out from a large room to the left only to be tackled by Maya into a hug. Her smile became even bigger when she noticed Daniel. She had very similar features to both Daniel and Maya such as the shining black hair, high cheekbones, brown eyes, pale skin and a shimmering gold necklace wrapped around her neck. Unlike Daniel's blank eyes, her eyes were full of warmth and love. Had Aro wondered if everyone in Daniel's family was this attractive. She quickly walked up to Daniel and wrapped her arms around his neck. For the second time since they had first met, Aro saw the large smile on Daniel's face as he hugged the woman Aro guessed was Christine back. "How have you been? Everything going fine?" She asked once they parted.

"As good as things can go. How is everything here?"

"Same. Who is your friend?" she asked, turning her attention and outstretched hand to Aro.

Shaking it, he introduced himself. "Ah, a Warlock. How interesting. So how are you adjusting to life again?"

"I'm...adjusting." Aro said with a smile.

"Well take all the time you need. In the meantime, you are welcome to join us for dinner. Maya, go get Tarlowe."

Daniel's smile disappeared at the sound of the name and an annoyed frown took its place as they heard footsteps moving towards them. Maya ran into the hallway towards the footsteps only to be lifted up with a squeal by a bearded man with a striking resemblance to Daniel. Tarlowe had all the signature traits of his family members but his hair was short and professionally neat. He had a smile for his sister but disappeared when he noticed Daniel.

He put her down and said in a deep voice, "Go wash up for dinner, Maya." After she ran off he straightened to his full height, which was even taller than Daniel. In the same deep voice he said, "Well what brings you here Daniel? Been three months since you last showed your face here. "

"You sound disappointed I'm here." Daniel said with a humorless smile.

"Not the word I was looking for but close."

"You know what.."

"No I really don't." Tarlowe laughed, daring his little brother to say something else.

"Save it. Both of you." Christine commanded, her usual sweet tone replaced by annoyance and anger. After a second of silence, Tarlowe turned his attention to Aro. "Aro, correct? I could hear you all from down the hall. Glad to have you with us." Sticking out his hand with a smile that Aro wasn't sure was genuine, Aro returned the favor. Tarlowe's eyes returned to Daniel who seemed to be getting angrier just being in the same room as Tarlowe. "Aro, do you think you could help me with the table?" Christine asked, hoping to break the tension.

"I'd be glad to."

"Thank you. You two, go wash up. You both smell like...men."

Agitatedly twisting the golden ring on his right middle finger, Tarlowe walked up the stairs. Daniel silently took another route.

"I'm sorry you had to see that. Tarlowe and Daniel take too much after our father." She waved towards a portrait of a copy of Daniel and Tarlowe but with more wrinkles.

"Our mother always said that if he ever met anyone like himself, they'd be fighting every few seconds. Then these two showed up." She laughed, her warms eyes held a glimmer of sadness.

"Are they not around anymore?" Aro asked softly as they worked. She nodded, "Our mother died when Maya was born. Maya is so much like her, our father used to say that our mother simply took on a new body."

"Like Maya as in how she views the Traveler?"

"Yes. Maya felt something again today didn't she?" Christine guessed.

"She did."

"Hmm…" she sighed deep in thought.

After a few minutes, Aro asked, "What about your father?"

"He was a scientist. A polymath. Worked in the Tower alongside the Guardians."

"A polymath? I don't know what that means."

"He had a wide range of knowledge and skills. He worked with the Cryptarch, the Warlocks, the Speaker and even the Awoken kingdom in the Reef. He had an adopted brother who became a Guardian and vouched for his position. A Titan by the name of Vell Tarlowe, who my big brother is named after."

"Our father was ambitious in his pursuit of knowledge and his biggest dream was to venture to the Ishtar Sink on Venus and reclaim the knowledge of the Archives and the Ishtar Collective lost to us during the Collapse. Our mother's death as well as some things at work made him throw himself into his work and away from us. His distancing seemed to hit its peak after he did some work in the Awoken Prison of Elders. Six years ago, he finally got his wish and Vell Tarlowe went with him. But only Tarlowe came back. The Fallen and the Vex had been waiting for them. " she continued, her eyes starting to glisten. "A year later, without a single goodbye or explanation to us about our father's death, Vell Tarlowe would go into the Hellmouth on the Moon with five other Guardians to take down the Hive god, Crota but he never came back either. In their final wills, both Father and Vell left everything to us. Especially this." She said touching the gold chain laced around her neck. "In his last will, our father asked that we keep the gold items he gave us safe. My necklace, Maya's bracelet, Danny's watch and Tarlowe's ring which was our father's wedding band. He continued to wear it long after our mother's death." She chuckled a bitter laugh.

"A mother, a father and then an uncle. It's still hard for all of us to accept. Tarlowe shut down emotionally. Daniel is now a walking ball of rage. We're still not even sure how Maya is taking it. She hates burdening others" There was a still silence in the air as Christine softly wiped her eyes, lost in memory.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you to answer." Aro said, a lump in his throat.

"It's alright. Daniel very rarely brings people home. You must be very special to him."

"Erek roped me into it." he said allowing a small smile.

She laughed, "Erek huh? Remind me to thank him. He's always looking out for him." They talked some more, Aro making sure to keep the conversation as lighthearted as possible until they finished. Dinner was relatively peaceful. For Christine and Maya's sake, there was no fighting between Daniel and his older brother. They seemed to have even shared a few small laughs. But it soon came to an end. Both Aro and Daniel had to work the next day.

It was dark outside, the Moon's light reflecting off the Traveler. "Is Erek really up there?" Maya asked as they all walked towards one of the vehicles. "Yeah he is. He'll be back by the time you start going to school. Just look for a green ship in the sky and wave ok?" Daniel said. Maya nodded and hugged Daniel and without hesitation, hugged Aro too, much to his surprise and ran inside. Christine did the same.

Tarlowe gave Aro a firm handshake and after a moment's hesitation, gave Daniel a small hug and pat on the back. Daniel and Aro entered inside one of the cruisers, which automatically lifted off the ground and started moving towards the Tower. After about ten minutes riding in silence, the cruiser stopped in front of the Tower, allowed Daniel and Aro to exit before taking off back in the direction it came. They walked inside and stopped at Daniel's floor first.

"Hey." Daniel said before Aro walked off, "Thanks for coming with me. It was fun."

"Uhh no problem. It was nice meeting your family." With a lingering pat on the shoulder and slightly longer eye contact, Daniel entered his dorm, the door closing behind him. Aro continued to slowly walk towards his own room, thinking over everything that had happened.

"You know what…" Kain said in his head after hours of silent observation.

"What?"

"I'm starting to think that look means something. What's making me mad is I can't guess what. "

Aro sighed and then allowed himself a tired laugh.


	12. The Warminds

_The Warminds_

"So let me see if I got this straight Kayla." Asura asked as their trio of jumpships hurtled towards the Cosmodrome.

"I'm listening." came the Warlock's voice over the intercom.

"For the last few days, you have been detecting an SOS signal coming from the Cosmodrome."

"That's correct."she answered.

"And for whatever reason, no one else can pick it up? Not even Sixx?"

"Yep."

"Then how do we know you aren't just losing your mind?"

"Asura, are you serious?" Crona asked annoyed.

"As an Archon."

"Because I'm not. Look, I can't explain it either but I was given permission to put a team together and check it out. This thing won't let me focus so I need to find out why. You should know that better than anyone here Asura." She said with a pointed tone. He self consciously touching the left side of his head. He hadn't had an episode since the chip was put in but he still felt a certain pressure in him. Like something or someone was trying to get out.

"You do know the location right?" He asked after a few minutes.

"We'll be going through the Mothyards then to the Forgotten Shore to get a better feel of the signals location of origin." Crona said, sounds of her cocking her weapon came over the intercom as the ships started to descend.

"Sounds like a plan." Asura sighed, doing the same. The three ships dropped low and dropped them off before jetting back into the sky. The old, destroyed aircrafts were a familiar sight to both Kayla and Crona but this was Asura's first time.

"So how long will it take us to walk to the Forgotten Shore?" He asked as he took in the sights. The sound of an engine behind him stole his attention. He twisted around to see Crona and Kayla summoning their Sparrows.

"No idea but you're welcome to find out." Kayla said before jetting off. Laughing, Crona followed. With an annoyed sigh, Asura was led by Spirit to a place where he could tap into the teleportation grid, promptly summoned his own Sparrow and followed them. On foot the journey would have taken a while but they reached the Forgotten Shore in seconds. Reaching the area, they saw how Forgotten Shore earned its title. Just like the rest of the Cosmodrome, the area had sparse patches of plant life and a light covering of snow. Unlike the rest of the Cosmodrome, there was a small lake in the middle of the shore. Large but shallow enough to wade through. The most eye catching part of the scenery was the massive, destroyed ships littering the Shore. Some were even buried halfway into the ground. It was the aquatic version of the Mothyards.

"What do you feel Kayla?" Crona asked. She was quiet for a second before she looked towards a pathway that led up towards an abandoned complex at the back of the Skywatch.

"There. Its there. And it's getting frantic." she whispered before taking off.

"Woah, slow down!" Asura called out.

"We need to stick together." Crona said as they tried to catch up to her.

Entering the building, they left their Sparrows and continued the way on foot until they reached an old engine room. Karla peaked around a corner before immediately falling back. "Fallen!" she hissed. She was right. They were deliberately crawling around the engine room, as if they were looking for something. Kayla brought up five fingers and starting counting down silently. Five...four...three...two...one. Without another moment's hesitation, she swung around the corner and took the head off the closest Dreg. Its body twitched and fell to the ground. Asura and Crona did the same, Auto Rifle and Hand Cannon buzzing and booming.. Out of the corner of her eye, Crona peaked a shimmer in the air. It had a distinct shape and it was running closer. A Stealth Vandal. The second it got within arm's length of her, she struck the empty space that she hoped was its head. She was lucky. Her Storm Fist landed right on target, electrocuting the Vandal. What she didn't account for was the second one using the first as cover.

Typical Fallen. They held no loyalty to anyone. Not even their own. It was a cowardly strategy but an effective one. It's blade struck clean across Crona's chest, sending off sparks. Through the pain, Crona still took it down before it could attack again and the area was soon cleared. "Hey guys look at this." Asura said, kneeling beside a Vandal corpse. "Look at the colors." Gold cape, blue tinged armor, Crona didn't see the importance. "The House of Devils wears red, white and black. Who the hell are these guys?"

"The House of Kings. Incredibly powerful and even more secretive. They control the Skywatch." Kayla said.

"What info do we have on them?"

"Not much. They almost never leave the Skywatch and little to no interaction between them and the House of Devils has been recorded."

"Well they obviously aren't much to worry about." Asura said, kicking over a dead Dreg.

"Let's keep moving." Kayla, taking the lead again, led them up two flights of stairs to a large room full of what looked like old processors. The room was filled with water but that didn't stop Kayla from wading through towards the center of the room. On top of a ledge was some kind of machine humming loudly and glowing blue.

"Sixx. Do you know what this is?" Kayla said, releasing her Ghost. It scanned the mechanism, blue light shining from its eye. "The machine is extremely old. At least the bottom part. This part on top of it," Sixx said, flying to the top, "This part is Fallen. It's an energy tap that's trying to break into the computer and destroy what's inside. The energy signature is both House of Kings and House of Devils. Whatever this is, the Devils allied themselves with the Kings to access and destroy it."

"I retract my earlier statement then." Kayla said.

"It must be extremely important if they are willing to work together on it." Crona said.

"Then Sixx, start collecting what you can and disable the tap."

"Already started but just so you know, the House of Kings know we're here. And they are sending an army." Sixx said.

"Should have known. I'm honestly surprised they weren't here already." Asura said reloading his weapons.

"Asura, can you still use your Golden Gun ability?" Kayla asked as she did the same.

He was surprised by the question before hesitantly answering, "Yes I can. When the…other "Asura" used it on the Archon, I still retained the memory."

"They're here!" Crona yelled, taking cover from a violet energy blast headed her way. Following her lead, Kayla traced where the attack came from and saw something that made her heart sink. A large, spherical glowing machine surrounded by similarly glowing Fallen Kings.

Kayla ducked as it released another bolt of Void energy. "They brought a Servitor with them! It's boosting their abilities; it needs to go down now!" Crona nodded before readying and throwing a Flashbang grenade. It landed directly on the Servitor, bouncing off slightly before exploding. Several Fallen went flying and those that didn't were blinded and deafened. Dashing towards the nearest still reeling Dreg, Asura jammed his knife into its throat and expertly shot the Vandal coming up behind it. The Shanks started to move in closer in order to draw their fire but Kayla was expecting them. Her fist started to glow red hot as she sprinted towards the biggest group of Shanks. The second she got close, she struck her palm out. Asura and Crona heard the familiar rush of wind but what was new was instead of being broken down into nothingness by Void energy, the Shank burst into orange flames. The others huddling behind it soon caught fire.

Kayla launched her own grenade at the biggest entrance where the Fallen were coming through. Once the grenade landed in front of the door, she snapped her fingers. The tiny glowing ball exploded into many times its own size and power, resembling a small version of the Sun. Any Fallen caught in the reaction was burned to death. Any Fallen that wasn't caught moved back away.

"Asura start shooting!" Kayla yelled. It was a small entrance way but with Asura's aiming, it might as well have been a massive hallway. Taking out a second Hand Cannon, he started to mow them down huddled in the entrance one by one.

"Where the hell did you get a second Hand Cannon?" Crona said as she assisted in taking out the waves of Fallen.

"I uh…stole Aro's."

"You aren't be serious."

"Well he doesn't need it right now."

She laughed right before everything went black.

A few seconds later, the world reappeared around her. As her eyes started to focus again, she noticed she was on the ground with Asura and Kayla standing over her and firing furiously.

"What happened?" She asked groggily. "An amped up Fallen Captain snuck up behind us." Sol reported to her, "You went down. I just revived you"

"Amped up?"

"It came with multiple Servitors. We're on the defensive and Sixx needs more time!" Crona's anxiety started to set in. Someone was going to get hurt and it would be because of her. She peaked over the cover she had been dragged behind to she noticed four Captains, shrouded in Arc powered shields taking cover and returning fire and three Servitors floating around, surrounded by countless Dregs, Vandals and Shanks. Kayla yelped in pain and clutched her smoldering shoulder after being hit by a bullet of burning metal.

"Son of a bitch." Asura cursed. He raised his hand into the air, bringing back memories from their fight with the Devil Archon. The Golden Gun appeared in a flash of brilliantly shining flames and Asura took aim.

_"He actually does remember how to use Golden Gun." _Crona thought. At least, she hoped it was Asura. He took aim at the Servitors, letting off two bolts of raw Solar energy. One went down, the other teleported out of the way. Asura then took aim at one of the Captains and fired his last shot. It teleported, effectively dodging the bolt and fired its own weapon. The shot just skimmed the left side of Asura's head but the force was enough to knock him down.

They were losing. Again.

Picking Asura up and propping him against their cover, Crona switched to her Arc Fusion rifle and started to fire, landing hits on the Captains and disabling their shields. After was a moment of complete clarity. She threw the gun to the ground and broke into a sprint.

"Crona wait!" Kayla yelled as she flew by but Crona was not listening. She was not going to see another one of her own teammates. No. Not just teammates. She was not going to see another friend be put in that bed if she could do something about it. The Captains, whose shields had not yet recharged gathered around each other, thinking numbers decided a battle. They were strong but they obviously were not smart. Anyone with any sense knew that if a Titan was running towards you, you ran the other way. Maybe they can teach that to their friends from beyond the grave.

What Crona was about to do, she had yet to successfully do but she could not fail now like she always had.

Lifting herself into the air, Crona was illuminated in Arc lightning. She came crashing down from the air like a lightning bolt, slamming her two fists into the ground. The electric energy that illuminated her spread throughout the entire area. No one stood against a Titan's Fist of Havoc and the more huddled her targets were, the better. The Captains around her shook and danced violently as lightning coursed through them. The weaker Fallen were vaporized immediately. The energy spent itself and lowered itself to negligible levels. The Captains remained frozen in place. Crona silently stood herself up, turned around and slowly walked back to her obviously surprised friends. She didn't see them but one by one, she heard the Captains fall dead to the ground behind her. The few remaining Dregs, Vandals, Shanks and Servitors disappeared in a flash of light. Overhead outside, they heard a ship blast off away from the Skywatch.

'Wow. Fist of Havoc. Good job." Kayla said impressed.

"Why, thank you."

"It's done. We need to destroy this thing." Sixx said when Crona returned. The three happily obliged. Once the tap was taken down, the machine started humming again and Kayla let out a small gasp.

"What is it?" Crona asked, slightly raising her weapon.

"The machine. It's talking to me."

"What's it saying now?"

"It's calling itself "Rasputin"."

"Rasputin? As in the Warmind Rasputin?" Spirit said, realization dawning on it as Asura stood himself up.

"Yes, exactly." Kayla confirmed.

"We heard that all of them died in the Collapse. No wonder the House of Kings wanted it shut down." Crona said.

"Not just the Kings. Hell, not just the Fallen. Something else is attacking it too. It's asking me to reactivate its last working Array at the very top of the Skywatch. Then it would be able to protect itself better. Let's get out of here before they regroup and see the Speaker." Asura didn't need to be told twice. Crona followed and with one last look at the buzzing machine, Kayla followed.

"A Warmind you say?" The Speaker asked.

"Yes sir." Kayla responded.

"And you were…talking to it?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes again sir. I'm not sure what to make of it either."

"This is very surprising. I don't think any of you realize how big this is." The Speaker said, turning away from them. His Ghost continued to observe them.

When Kayla, Crona and Asura returned, they immediately arranged to see the Speaker the next day. Aro, Daniel and Erek, back from the Moon, joined them.

"Excuse me sir but what exactly is a Warmind?" Asura asked.

"First, I ask that you make more of an effort to stay awake in your classes." The Speaker said sternly, earning a small laugh from the others at Asura's expense. "And a Warmind. A Warmind is a massive artificial intelligence. We placed them across every planet we colonized. The Warminds make every computer humanity has ever built in its history look like a child's toy. When the Darkness attacked, they fought and died to protect us. Or so we thought."

"This one survived." Daniel spoke up.

"Yes. Hurt but unbroken. The fact that it's being raised from its slumber now means something is going on. And it's trying to warn us through Kayla."

"It keeps telling me to "_Close the Gate_" and "_the Heralds come_." I don't know what any of that means."

Aro perked up at the mention of the Gate. His dream. The line that keeps being repeated over and over. _"The Gate is Risen."_ Now Rasputin is warning them to _"Close the Gate."_ Aro dreaded to know what it meant.

"A Herald?" Aro asked, hoping to change the subject.

"I don't know." The Speaker admitted.

"There's nothing in the libraries either." Kayla said.

"Keep looking. However I do have a few questions Kayla."

"Yes sir?"

"First, do you have any memory of your past life?"

"No sir. Nothing I can think of."

"Where did your Ghost, Sixx, revive you?" He asked, bringing up a holographic map.

Sixx flew over to a certain spot in the middle of the map. "Here. East Africa in the area that used to be known as "Kenya". It was in some kind of facility. I never found out what it was for. I found her near a large pad of controls, slumped over them."

"Hmm." The Speaker said, returning deep into thought for a few minutes.

"You called for us?" Cayde-6 said behind the group, behind him was Ikora Rey and Zavala.

"Yes I did. I'm sure you heard the news about Rasputin?"

"Word does get around."

"It always does. Daniel's team, Aro's team, you are both dismissed."

"Um sir, before we left, Rasputin let off signs that it was still in danger. I am requesting permission to head back down to the Skywatch and eliminate anymore threats." Kayla said.

"Daniel, do you second this?"

"Yes sir I do."

"Then permission granted. You head out in two days."

"Thank you sir." Kayla said before the six Guardians walked out.

Before she could exit, Zavala stopped Crona and patted her shoulder. "I heard that you used your super and saved your team. I told you not to worry about it too much." Zavala said, pride in his voice.

"Thank you sir." Crona said professionally but on the inside she was smiling like a gleeful child. She exited and closed the door behind her.

"What did you need sir?" Zavala asked once they were all alone.

"Has any rumor of Kayla talking to the Warmind spread around yet?"

"A bit." Ikora said, causing the Speaker to sigh.

"Warminds never talked to anyone but their handlers and each other. The facility where Kayla was found was the home of the African Warmind, Nia."

"You believe she was Nia's handler?"

"Without a doubt. But that was the previous Kayla. The old one was wiped. And even if she is the old her, she wasn't Rasputin's handler. He shouldn't be talking to her. Especially inside her head. "

"Then how is it possible for her to understand him?" Cayde asked.

The Speaker was silent for a minute and then said, "Do you believe it's possible for Warminds to transfer themselves into other machines?"

"Yes sir. It happened all the time during the Golden Age. With Warsats."

"And even if the machine is dead, it could lie dormant inside of it?"

"The Warminds were powerful. It is a very real possibility. What are you getting at?"

The Speaker turned to face them, "What if Nia didn't die? What if she saw the Light inside her handler and transferred herself into it, knowing they'd be revived and live on together? What if Kayla is the Warmind Nia reforged in the Light?"


	13. Close the Gate

_Close the Gate_

* * *

"Are you serious?"

"Extremely."

"But why do I have to go?"

"Consider it punishment for taking my Hand Cannon."

"But you didn't need it! Besides you've got to admit. Two Hand Cannons? Come on, that takes skill."

"At least until you need to reload…"

"…I'm working on it! Shut up."

Aro and Asura's argument continued all the way down to the nearest library, fifteen minutes away. Kayla already confirmed for Aro that there wasn't much on the Gate in the Tower libraries and Aro had already asked Master Rahool to be on the look out for him. The City had many libraries to choose from so they started with the closest.

As they entered the large and busy but quiet building, Aro instructed Asura to look for what he can on "the Gate." It's mention made Asura become serious, "It's about what the Warmind told Kayla and your dreams isn't it?"

"Yes it is. If "_The Gate is Risen_" when I was, how exactly are we supposed to close it?"

"Other than kill you?"

"I'm a Guardian. Kain can just revive me. I'm sure Rasputin would know that."

"That's a good point. I just want to go on record to say I still don't want to do this."

"Duly noted and ignored. Now go."

In a huff, Asura stomped away.

* * *

"Are you serious?"

"Yuup." Kayla replied, stretching out her answer.

"But why do I have to go and not Erek?"

"Erek has been working hard for the last week. He plans to spend the next two days sleeping. And because you'll never leave your room otherwise."

"Is that why you strong armed Aro into going with me to see my family?"

Kayla laughed loudly much to Daniel's annoyance, "We did NOT have to strong arm him! He wanted to go. And do not act like you weren't happy when he asked."

They reached the nearest library and walked up to the front desk. An elderly Human lady with pure white hair and pale skin smiled sweetly at them and asked, "May I help you two?"

Flashing her ID, Kayla said, "There's some information I am looking for that I was not able to find in the Tower library. If it is alright, I'd like full access to all the texts you have here."

"Oh of course! May I just see your IDs again and there you go." she said, scanning both their IDs and handing them back, "Ok Daniel and Kayla, help yourself to any info you need. It's always nice to have Guardians visit. All I ask is that you be careful mentioning your status in here. We have one of the school's visiting today and you guys are kind of celebrities."

"Ooh maybe Maya is here." Kayla said getting excited.

"Maybe…"

"_DANNY_!" came a screaming whisper behind them.

"I am just so good at being right." Kayla said. They both turned around just in time for Daniel to be tackled into a hug by his little sister. After pulling away from Daniel, she tackled Kayla in the same manner.

"It's been a while Maya. How is everything going?" Kayla asked.

"Everything's fine. What are you guys doing here?"

"I'm doing some research for the Tower." Kayla answered. Then turning to Daniel, she said in a teasing manner, "Since you want to complain like a child, you can wait here with the other children. Have fun, _Danny_." With a laugh, she disappeared into the massive shelves of books.

Scowling at the back of her head, Daniel was dragged by his sister to where she was sitting. All of the big chairs were taken up, forcing Daniel to plant his large frame into one of the smaller kids' chairs, something Maya couldn't help but giggle at. After a few minutes catching up, Maya ran off to get more books for both of them.

* * *

"So I found a bunch of stuff on space gates but nothing called The Gate. I'm pretty sure that doesn't help." Asura said, placing four books down.

"I'm pretty sure you're right."

Unknown to Kayla and Daniel, Aro and Asura had planted themselves in the back of the same library, going through stacks and stacks of books. They even released Spirit and Kain in order to double their efforts but it didn't seem to help much.

"I'll keep looking then." Asura sighed, walking away.

"Did you locate anything?" Aro said as Kain flew back. A stack of three books materialized in front of him. "These seemed interesting. And I've been thinking about that time you spent with Daniel…"

"Still?"

"Yes still. I think I've figured out what the situation is. You're attracted to him, aren't you?"

Aro chuckled and shook his head.

"Or at least very attracted to him. Through your mind, I can keep track of the activity in your body and I've noticed that nearly every time you are around him, your body signals match that of a person who feels the urge to mate…"

"Ok that's enough…" Aro interrupted, closing his book

"Multiple times." Kain finished.

"I get the point. Can we not talk about me wanting to "mate with someone" while we are in public?"

"Fine with me. I'm pretty sure I'm right though." Kain said before flying off. Shaking his head again, Aro picked up the first book Kain dropped off and started to absent mindedly flip through it. His thoughts were half on the book and half on what Kain had said. At least until his eyes ran across what he was possibly looking for. It was a section of the book called "Photo-Gates", photo meaning light. But whether they meant light as in photons or the Light as in Guardians and Ghosts, Aro did not know until the Traveler was mentioned. The first paragraph to mention the Traveler said that there was no detection of the Traveler hurtling through space until it reached the edge of the Solar System, long after it should have been detected. There wasn't even confirmation it was there until explorers travelled to Mars to see it. It just appeared in space out of nothing. The main theory was that it utilized its own Light power to transport itself across the galaxy or possibly even universe, in the same way Warlocks and Hunters can use their Blink abilities to teleport short distances. One of the disturbing facets of the theory was that on a lesser scale, the Darkness might be able to do the same. But if that was the case, why was it taking so long to get here and destroy them?

"_Maybe for the same reason the Traveler never left. It can't use its abilities on that grand of a scale too often_." Aro thought. But how can the Darkness use transport gates powered by the Light? And even if all this was true, what exactly did it have to do with his resurrection? He would need to know more but it was getting dark and the library was preparing to close.

Asura, Spirit and Kain all came back, none with any books. "This has probably been the biggest waste of time I've ever gone through in my few months of living." Asura said, planting himself in the seat next to Aro, "I'm going to remember this day on my deathbed and regret how I didn't spend it watching television".

"We may have been looking for the wrong thing. Kain, scan these books and see what you can find on "photo-gates." Anything you find, we'll take back with us. We're leaving." Both picked themselves up, gathered whatever books Kain selected, checked out and left.

As they walked out, Asura said, "Rasputin keeps telling Kayla to "_Close the Gate_". Can I assume that means we won't be telling her?"

"Not her, not Daniel or Erek, not the Vanguard or even the Speaker. At least not yet. We'll tell Crona and Sol after Daniel's team leaves for the Skywatch."

Asura shrugged, "You're the boss." They walked back to the Tower in silence.

* * *

Exhausted and disheartened, Kayla went back to the kid's section, finding Daniel sleeping in the same place she left him hours ago. It was dark so Maya had obviously gone back to school and gone home a while ago.

"Who let this fool become leader?" Kayla said, hitting him on the shoulder and waking him up.

Yawning and stretching, he gave one of his rare, sleepy smiles and said, "Have fun?"

"No I didn't. I found nothing Gates or Heralds." she said, plopping down beside him. "Hmm. Well maybe if you had the chance to talk to Rasputin again…"

"You mean the Array?"

"Sure. Do we even have any idea how to activate it?" She thought for a moment and then said, "Rasputin was relaying some kind of code to me. I had Sixx record it. That might have to do with it."

"Then it's settled." Daniel said, standing, "We activate the array and wait for Rasputin to tell you what to do next."

"If you think so." Kayla sighed, standing and walking out of the library with him. "If we are able to activate the Array, this could deal an incredible blow to the Darkness and its armies. And if Rasputin is alive, who knows what other Warminds survived out there. We can't fail this mission. Not at all." Daniel grunted his agreement as they began the walk back.

"Something is wrong. Something big. Much bigger than any of us. And the scary part is I have no idea what it is." Kayla said softly.

"It's okay not to know everything. That's why you have us. We'll figure the problem out and put the problem down. Like we always do."


	14. Memories

_Memories_

* * *

"Crona! This is a nice surprise."

"Hello, Mother. You look great." Crona replied with smile. It had only been a few months since she had left for her training. Her mother returned the smile, the same brilliant one her father said stole his heart and made him speechless. It was a funny thought; her father, the great hero of Twilight Gap, speechless and stuttering like a lovestruck teenager . Hell, everything about her parents was funny. Her father was a giant while her mother was probably the shortest in the family at a petite 5'5. Crona was the spitting image of her mother but closer to her father's height.

"Well thank you. I try." Eve said, giggling at her own joke. "How has work been going? I heard you were put on a pretty good team."

"Yeah, Asura and Arochukwu."

"Arochukwu? That's a strange name. Well as long as you can rely on them. You have to bring them over sometime. I would like to meet your friends. Oh by the way-" Eve was interrupted by little feet padding on the carpet towards them. She turned around in time to have see her nephew latch himself to her knee.

"Trey's here." Eve laughed.

"I noticed." Crona remarked, picking up the child. Zavala the Third or Trey was named after his father, Crona's older brother. She had forgotten that he stayed with his grandparents when his mother and father were at work. He had white colored hair like his grandfather before he shaved it all off and the angular features of his grandmother. But that was as far as the paternal resemblance went. His skin was a human tanned brown just like his mother, darkened slightly by hours of playing outside and stood out strikingly from his hair and eyes. And his hair grew in natural curls so tight that combing it was always an ordeal. Despite being genetically mutated by both the Darkness and the Light, Awoken remained genetically compatible enough with humans to produce viable offspring, though they were few and far between. As far as they had come along, prejudice still ran rampant.

"I thought I sent you to sleep." Eve said sternly. Trey just giggled, hiding his face in Crona's neck. "He must have climbed out of the bed again." Her mother's stern expression melted away and her smile returned, "You know what, it's been a long time since you were home. Why don't you stay for tonight and have dinner with us?"

Before she could answer, the door opened and Trey, who was facing the door, wiggled himself out of Crona's arms and ran towards it. His grandfather caught him and threw him into the air and catching him, earning a delighted squeal from his grandson.

"I'd love to Mother."

"Great! Go ahead and wash up. You know where everything is." After a quick greeting to her father, she walked up the stairs and to her bedroom. Her mother had done a good job of keeping Trey out of her room. Everything was still in place; just as she left it. Admittedly, Crona was very busy. Asura had told her of what they had learned at the library and her mind was just as preoccupied as Asura's and Aro's were with this "Photo gate." But it had been a long time since she had been home. Kayla, Daniel and Erek wouldn't leave till tomorrow noon. One night couldn't hurt.

* * *

The apartment was silent but he knew Aro was just sitting quietly in the other room. He did that a lot. Asura never understood it. He was an extroverted person but during these times, he was glad for the quiet. He sat in the corner, mumbling to himself just like his first time in the Cosmodrome. The urges were stronger than before. The shot he took to the head at the Skywatch. It must have damaged the chip. He knew he needed to get it repaired but there was something inside him pushing the thought down and out. If he didn't keep quiet and still, this "something" would gladly take over again. Then who knows what would happen.

This "other" felt as sentient as he was. It wasn't a mindless machine, it was its own personality. It even had a name that it said only in hesitant whispers. As if it wasn't sure itself.

"_Wrath_"

The name. The personality. The bloodlust. All familiar, yet foreign and above all, terrifyingly fitting. When it wasn't trying to figure out its own name, Wrath kept repeating the same images in Asura's head over and over. Asura saw himself descending towards a planet. He saw himself running through a building. Screams, wails, sobs and gore splashed all around him. And worst of it was sick thrill the screams gave him.

Despite all of the carnage, the scene that stuck out the most was another Exo. One with a feminine frame. Black and white with blue trim, small blue eyes and a navy cape and hood that went over the left shoulder and partially covered the arm, like a Hunter. But he knew the Exo wasn't a Hunter. This one was different. He saw himself fighting ferociously against the Exo. Bullets flying everywhere as the building they were in fell apart around them followed by scenes of him being rapidly launched into the sky. He was in some kind of vessel but he couldn't move. He could barely stay conscious but he could see the stars above, below and all around him. He could see the massive ships moving past him; bombarding the planet below him. As the vessel he was bound to flew away from the planet, a dark swirling mist slowly surrounded the devastated planet covering it and hiding it from view. The dark mist vanished into nothing and so did the planet. Asura was horrified by what he was witnessing but at the same time he wasn't. At least "_Wrath_" wasn't. No, not this "_Wrath_." _Wrath_ was weak and battered but sadistically happy. He may have lost the battle but somehow he still won the war.

"_Fleet 64. Base Seven, northern region." _

"_Mission complete."_

Wrath blacked out and Asura felt its presence recede, giving him control again. Wrath may have calmed down but his memories stayed.

Was he responsible for the destruction of the planet?

Who was this second Exo?

So many questions ran through his head. Questions he wasn't sure he wanted an answer to. Right now, he needed a distraction from the images burned in his head. Slowly picking himself up from the corner, he sat down at his desk, took out one of his Hand Cannons and started to take it apart piece by piece.

Spirit stayed quiet the whole time, wondering the same questions.


	15. The Last Array Part I

_The Last Array Part I_

* * *

"Nice of you to join us Erek."

Yawning and running a hand through his messy black hair, Erek walked into the Guardian briefing room followed by Crona, Asura and Aro.

"Woah, why are you guys in here?" Daniel asked stopping them at the door.

"Orders from the Vanguard." Crona sticking a paper in his face, "We don't know why either but orders are orders."

"…Alright then. Caesar, bring up a map of the Cosmodrome." he said, walking over to the head of the table. It was the first time Aro had seen him in uniform. The usual pants, the boots. The tight shirt with the Arc and Void elements stretched across his back.

"_You're staring again. Pay attention_." Kain whispered in his head.

"We'll be starting in the Mothyards. By now, everyone here should be familiar with it." Daniel said, pointing at the area labeled such, "We will be going through the Lunar Complex where Erek, Aro and Crona encountered the Hive. Luckily it won't be a problem. Another Guardian went through the area a few days ago. The Hive and the Fallen have both abandoned it, followed by an increase in activity from both in the Skywatch."

"Combine that with the fact that Rasputin has been giving off stronger warning signals." Kayla added in.

"So that means they'll both be expecting us and doing everything to keep us from the Array. They'll be fighting each other but the biggest threat to both of them will be us. We can expect to be attacked from all sides." Daniel finished.

"Where is the activation panel for this array?" Erek asked, now slightly more awake.

"Right here at the top of the Skywatch. In the Terrestrial Complex. Kayla, do you still have the codes?"

She tapped the side of her head.

"Heh heh. Hollow." Erek mumbled, flinching away when Kayla tried to hit him.

"We leave in fifteen. Dismissed." Daniel said.

"So none of you are even the slightest bit worried?" Asura said as the six of them exited.

"It's just a routine mission. We've done this kind of thing plenty of times." Erek said as his armor appeared over his body. His Ghost appeared over his shoulder, "Holliday has our ships prepped. They're ready for take off."

"Then it's time." Daniel said. Getting to the top of the Tower, the sun, the wind and the Traveler greeted them as always. Other Guardians were walking around, some talking with Master Rahool or Banshee 44, some going over final battle strategies before they would head out, some looking dead tired from having just come back. The Tower Hangar was just as busy.

"I guess this is where we part. We'll see you all tomorrow." Kayla disappeared first, Erek after and with a wave behind him, Daniel disappeared into his ship as well. Everything was exactly as before. Their Ghosts ran routine systems checks, the countdown started and the ships took off, setting a course for the Cosmodrome. Asura, Crona and Aro waited till their ships withdrew from sight before leaving. "What do you think Rasputin will tell them?" Crona asked Aro.

"Anything other than "_Re-bury the Gate_" hopefully."

"Assuming you're the Gate?"

"Well who else would this loud inhuman voice be referring to?"

"So you think you're a photo-gate?." Asura asked skeptically.

"I don't know, okay? I'm still trying to figure it out. I just need time. Hopefully before they get a chance to talk to the Warmind. We better get started." Aro said, walking away. Sharing a look, his teammates followed.

* * *

The team of Guardians were teleported from their ships to the ground, taking in the familiar sights of the Mothyards.

Erek lazily yawned and stretched, looking around at the massive destroyed airplanes embedded in the ground. "Well I'm already bored. Let's go find this thing."

Moving up the path that led to the opening of the Skywatch, they saw that the usual Fallen guards were nowhere to be found. "Where are they?"

"Probably fighting off the Hive." Daniel figured.

"Well good for us."

Daniel taking the lead, they entered the Lunar Complex, moving through the area with their Ghosts providing light when they needed it. All the places where Erek, Crona and Aro had previously encountered Hive or Fallen were empty.

"Lots of movement ahead." Sixx warned. Finally reaching the open area of the Skywatch, they saw why. The Fallen were furiously doing battle with the Hive on the rocky hills. Hive Void Shredders and Fallen Arc Shock rifle blasts flew through the air, colliding with bodies. Fallen Captains and Servitors littered the battlefield as Hive Wizards and Knights did the same. Sending themselves into the air and landing on a rusty shed, the Guardians got a better view of the battlefield. The carnage wasn't a comforting sight.

"This umm…what's the word?" Kayla asked, obviously gaping through her visor.

"This is disconcerting? This is disturbing?" Erek guessed.

"This changes nothing. Let's keep goi-_SHIT MOVE!_" Daniel suddenly yelled. He shoved Kayla off the building roof and grabbed Erek's cape, choking him. He threw himself and Erek after Kayla. Just as they hit the ground, the roof of the shed thunderously exploded in blue light before collapsing on itself.

"Daniel, get off of me!" Kayla yelled, her face muffled in the snow.

"Sorry. Hive Boomer. Erek, you breathing?"

"Crushed windpipe but I'm good." Erek rasped, standing himself up and rotating his arm to stretch it out. His knife appeared in his hand. "The good thing is now I'm furious."

He sprinted towards the battle, his team followed him. Leaping over the corpse of a Fallen Dreg, Erek's body suddenly burst into Arc Lightning , his knife becoming the focal point. He struck one of the Hive Acolytes from behind, vaporizing it in a bolt of lightning. Erek didn't even pause to watch it evaporate into thin air, he had already moved to the Fallen Dreg next to it. His movements were trancelike but he managed to keep a straight line, clearing a path to the Terrestrial Complex at the top of the Skywatch before his Arc Blade attack wore off. Daniel and Kayla had managed to keep up.

"That was easy." Erek preened, sheathing his knife. Retrieving his gun, Erek took the lead and Daniel took the rear.

"Activity ahead." Eren chirped.

"I see 'em." Erek's rifle illuminated the area as he took down two Dregs.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kayla saw shimmering. "Stealth Vandals." She moved Erek out of the way, taking down those she could make out. One of the Dregs took cover behind one of the lockers, sticking his gun out to fire blindly at the trio. Kayla moved in to take it down, not hearing the creaking from the ceiling. A bladed Vandal attempted to pounce on her, only making it halfway before being punched away by Daniel. The Vandal disintegrated from the Void filled punch and a purple Force Barrier covered his entire body, emitting and soft humming sound. Making sure the room was cleared, they moved on only to be ambushed before they could get to the clearing. Three Dregs and two Vandals came out from different hiding spots and started to fire at the team. Their attacks bounced off of Daniel's force field, not even warranting a blink from him. Using the Titan as cover, Kayla and Erek mowed them down one by one. Few seconds after, Daniel's shield disappeared. "How much farther Kayla?"

She was silent for a second and then pointed at an opening in front of them. "It's right through there."

"It's littered with Fallen. They know we're coming for it."

"Then let's get through. Quick and clean." Daniel said. They slowly moved outside. Kayla wished she had time to appreciate it. The entire Cosmodrome could be seen from where they were. The threatening screech of a Vandal recaptured her attention. At the very back of the Complex, she saw a large open room full of rusted computers and machinery.

"There! That's where we activate the Array." Kayla yelled over the sound of weaponry.

"Kayla, make for it! Erek, help me clear the way!" There was at least one Fallen Captain standing in their way. The rest were a multitude of Vandals, Dregs and Shanks. Ignoring them, Kayla ran for the computers with her team right on her tail clearing the way. Making it into the computer room, she moved for the computers, only to have another Vandal and Captain block her way. She jumped back just in time to avoid a nasty hit from behind her. A fast moving bolt of light that was most likely aimed at her head. Instead it hit the Captain, disabling his shield. Kayla took its confusion as an opportunity to take it and the Vandal down.

Daniel and Erek were still at the door, trying to hold back the Fallen. There were a lot more of them now, pouring in from the Skywatch. They were determined to keep the Array closed. Kayla heard Erek cry out, clutching his shoulder. Hunters weren't built to take the kind of punishment he was, "Kayla hurry!"

Kayla and Sixx were still trying to turn the machine on. Erek and Daniel were starting to run low on ammunition, unable to let their Ghosts out to collect what was dropped from the Fallen corpses. Suddenly a large Captain came up the walkway, shoving a Dreg out of its way. It lifted its massive weapon to its shoulder and pointed it at the two. A red laser appeared right over Erek's heart but he was too busy Trying to shoot down the ones closest to him to take notice. The Captain fired. The world slowed down but there would still be no way to get to him in time. "One chance." Daniel told himself, starting to build up his energy.

A loud, fiery explosion from behind knocked Kayla over and rocked the entire Complex. "Daniel! Erek!" Kayla called into the comms. The area was silent and with dust billowed into the air.

"Sixx keep going. I'm going to go revive them." Kayla retrieved her gun and inched closer under the darkness of the dust cloud to revive them without being seen. As she got closer, she could hear the Fallen screeching but she also heard another thing. A soft hum. As the dust slowly settled, small rays of light came out of it. Suddenly, Erek burst out of the cloud and into the air, leaping high over the Fallen. "Too close Danny!" he yelled from the air.

"I told you not to call me that!" yelled Daniel as he sprinted out of the cloud, rolling to throw off any possible aiming before lobbing a grenade at the largest gathering of Fallen. The grenade stuck to the shocked Captain and exploded in a flash of purple, killing the alien and just when the other Fallen thought the coast was clear, it exploded again. The dust fell even more to reveal a violet dome of Void energy. The Ward of Dawn that Daniel was able to put up just in time. Kayla breathed a sigh of relief before hearing Sixx call her over. Erek burst in a flash of lightning while in the air, his blade out and his energy replenished. He dropped to the ground and leapt toward one Fallen after another, incinerating them with his Light in a graceful and deadly dance.

Daniel was a bit more rough around the edges. His rifle disappeared to be replaced by a much bigger version. The weapon buzzed thunderously, sweeping the area and mowing down everything to his right, letting Erek handle the left. Empty bullet casings spouted from the weapon and fell to the ground but the Fallen fell faster. By the time Erek's energy and Daniel's clip ran empty, the area was clear; Fallen corpses littering the Skywatch.

The place suddenly started to rumble and shake. "Guys it's on!" Kayla yelled, running up from behind them. Massive doors ahead of them started to open up. An even bigger radar towers slowly raised from inside. After several centuries, Rasputin was alive and well. The sight was magnificent to behold, mesmerizing the trio of Guardians and their Ghosts. In the back of Kayla's head, there was a small, familiar whisper. A whisper that was getting louder and tugging at her attention. It forced her to look away from and past the Array. There was something on the tower behind it. No, not something. Someone. A humanoid creature in pure black robes and a helmet that seemed eerily familiar. The person raised their hand and a green orb slowly floated from the palm and stopped at the center of the Skywatch. It divided into three and became bigger, emitting a familiar and disturbing screech. The whisper in her head suddenly became a roar.

"_NIA! RUN!_"

The orbs exploded and a high pitched screeching filled the air.


	16. Heralds

_Heralds_

* * *

"I can't believe he's keeping us held captive in this stupid library." Crona mumbled, throwing down a book.

"I can." Asura said coming up behind her. "Man's a bit of a taskmaster. Find anything interesting?"

"Just something on the history of the Traveler. So no."

"Neither did I." Asura sighed, dropping into the seat next to her. "I'm just wondering if he's right. How is could he be a gateway for the Darkness? He's human, isn't he? Is it just gonna burst out of him?"

"Yes he is. I don't understand it either. But a dream that occurs every night in details vivid enough to remember aren't dreams. Especially for a Warlock. They're messages. Someone is trying to talk to him." Crona pointed out.

Asura was silent for a second and took a folded piece of paper out of his uniform jacket and opened it. "Kain told me Aro drew this a few nights ago. The dreams are off and on but it's often and vivid enough for him to draw this from memory. He's actually pretty good."

On the paper, seven figures stood out with the dark mass swirling over their heads. Just like Aro had originally described in his dreams. Each had a pair of red glowing eyes but few other physical depictions. "

What are these to the sides?" Crona asked, seeing lightly drawn objects.

"Claws. He feels the monsters ripping at him but can never see them. It's the seven he can clearly see that worries both me and him. Look closer. You can slightly make out what they're wearing."

Only then did Crona notice small but key differences between the figures.

"They're Guardians." she gasped softly.

"Exactly."

"Any idea who they are?"

"None."

"Well that's disappointing." Crona said, handing the paper back.

"But it's something. Remember what Rasputin told Kayla about the Gate? It referred to something called…"Heralds." Asura said hesitantly. His calm aura was suddenly gone.

"How's your head?" Crona asked.

Asura rubbed the side of his head. "Fine. Don't worry about it." He said. A bit quickly.

Crona wanted to inquire further but left it alone. "What about these Heralds?"

"Maybe these seven are meant to make sure the Darkness gets here using Aro somehow. But all this doesn't change the fact that Aro is a Guardian. A warrior of the Light." Asura argued.

"Dredgen Yor? Toland the Shattered? Both Guardians corrupted by Darkness." Crona pointed out, "But you do have a point. Guardians aren't born or reborn corrupted. Dredgen and Toland were Rank IV Guardians. My father even told me a Titan named Kabr had hopes for Commander of the Titan Corps before he went insane and died on Venus."

"Is there anyone we can talk to about Kabr?" Asura asked.

Crona chuckled darkly, "The last person to see him was a Guardian named Pahanin Errata. He was murdered by Dredgen Yor." If Asura had eyebrows, Crona was sure they'd be raised.

"Um…how?"

"In the Crucible, Pahanin and a Titan named Thalor ended up on the wrong end of Yor's custom made gun called _Thorn._ He wiped out a settlement outside the City and killed several civilians and another Hunter named Jaren Ward before he was finally killed himself."

"That's um…wow. I never knew that." Asura whispered.

"I wish I didn't. I saw something on it years ago." Crona said.

Asura sighed, "That's terrible. It really is."

"The last thing I'd want is for Aro to become a monster like Yor."

Asura was silent for a second, before standing up. "Then we better get back to work. Have you checked out this section yet?" he asked, pointing directly behind Crona.

"I am now." she answered, getting up and heading back towards the books.


	17. The Last Array Part II

_The Last Array Part II_

* * *

"Nooo. No, no, no."

"Damn it."

From the exploding orbs, three Hive Tombships cut their way through space. They looked as ancient as undead and as sinister as the race they transported. Turrets swiveled slowly towards the Guardians' direction.

"We need to move. Now." Daniel whispered, slowly moving backwards.

The weapons fired. The three threw themselves behind any cover they could find. A purple bolt of Void energy smashed against the wall next to the activation panel for Rasputin's Array, staining it black.

"They're trying to destroy it! It still needs time to fully activate." Kayla yelled to the others.

"How much time does it need?" Daniel asked, reloading.

"Five minutes!"

"Too long. Everyone take a ship! Disable the turrets!"

Coming out from behind their cover, both Daniel and Erek took the far left and center ships respectively. Switching to her Rocket Launcher, Kayla took the right. Locking onto a turret switching to her direction, she clicked the trigger. The projectile whistled through the air and smashed against the Tombship's gun. The smoke cleared, showing the damaged but still functional weapon. Kayla started reloading, only to be interrupted by a violet orb flying past her head which she barely dodged. She took her aim and fired again, destroying the first gun.

"Kayla, I don't think we have enough for the second one." Sixx warned.

Her Ghost was right. The same seemed to be true for the others. The ships' firing ceased and the Terrestrial Complex was silent for a few short seconds. Suddenly a beam of light slid along the underside of the ships and Hive soldiers dropped to the ground. The Guardians heard the familiar cry of the Thrall and saw a large group of them sprinting towards Erek. Acting quickly, Kayla threw a grenade directly in front of him and willed it to burst. The first two Thralls couldn't stop themselves in time to keep from running into the miniature star. The others paused and quickly ran around it to continue their assault but Erek had noticed them by then. Erek started to mow them down before they could resume attempting to rip him apart. But his clip ran dry before the amount of Thrall did. He resorted to his knife, doing everything he could just to keep them at bay. The Acolytes stuck to the back, firing continuously.

One last Thrall jumped up in an attempt to rend him into pieces only to be punched away by Daniel, whose Force Barrier reappeared. A screeching cry rang through the air and a Wizard flew out from behind the far right pillar and all fire focused on Daniel, who stood tall in front of Erek to take all the punishment for his injured teammate. Hive Shredders and Boomers exploded all around them. Kayla took cover again behind one of the cabinets, the light from the explosions blinding her. The bombardment of the Skywatch continued for five minutes straight, filling the area with more dust and smoke before abruptly cutting off.

"Dust in my eyes again." Erek thought tiredly, helping himself up onto one arm. He found himself wondering why he wasn't dead after that onslaught. The cloud fell slowly and he got his answer. A large humanoid silhouette with its arms outstretched had been covering him. Through the pain, Daniel stood tall.

"Daniel…" Erek called hesitantly.

He groaned in response before he slowly buckled to his knees and fell into Erek's arms. Caesar appeared over his body in a slowly rotating bubble of Light as his body went completely limp.

He was dead.

But not completely. Another screeching cry. The Hive had noticed the survivor. Kayla came running from her hiding spot, yelling, "Go! We can get him later!"

Erek abandoned the body, seeking sturdier cover while the Wizard started sending Arc bolts at them in order to finish the job. Kayla joined him, "The Array is completely activated. But that means they can focus attention on us now."

"Daniel. We're in a Darkness Zone. He can't…We need to-"

"I know." Cracks started to appear in the walls. "I'll draw their fire. You go invisible and revive Daniel." With that, she ran out from her cover, throwing a grenade at the aliens.

Erek ran out the other side, completely invisible from sight. He broke into a hard run before stopping suddenly and jumping out of the way of the just seen threat. But he didn't move far enough. Four glowing, slow walking Thrall bumped into him. Cursed Thrall with the ability to explode. Touch was all the signal they needed. Erek cursed…

* * *

A brutal explosion knocked Kayla over. The second she regained her bearings, she remembered, "That's where Daniel and Erek were."

Looking through the smoke, she saw they were still there. At least their corpses were. Hearing a roar coming closer, she jumped away just in time to avoid being cleaved by a Hive Knight's blade. The sword came up again; too fast for her to move again. Instinctively bringing her arm up, pain screamed through her it as the sword took her entire left forearm clean off. Suppressing a scream of pain, she rolled away to avoid a third hit. Using her still connected right hand, she stuck a grenade to the Knight's head and snapped her fingers. The tiny orange sphere expanded, burning the creature and causing it to reel and back away in pain.

"Whose idea was it to make androids feel pain?" Kayla seethed silently as Sixx repaired her arm. She lifted her newly repaired hand and tested it before being thrown back by yet another explosion. The Hive Boomers were resuming their onslaught and she was caught in the middle of it.

The world was falling apart around her. After everything she had been through, this is what kills them. She failed her team. She failed her friends and fellow Guardians back home. Daniel's family. She promised to bring him home. A promise that would have to be broken. At least to her, dying would be better than having to face Tarlowe and Christine. Death a thousand times over would be better than seeing Maya cry and knowing she was at fault for it. And Erek. Did he even have family? He had one person he loved and she was gone. No matter how cheerful and happy he acted, Kayla knew apart of him wanted to be reunited with his love in death. She wondered if he could see her now, in his own state of limbo.

She closed her eyes, fully prepared to give up, but not before getting one last look at the monsters who would have her soul. As well as the black robed figure, still there sitting calmly behind the carnage. The Hive payed the person absolutely no mind. Whoever they were, they somehow had absolute command of the Hive.

_"Nia. Shut off your ears."_

The same voice. The one that warned her to run before. They should have listened before. The Hive Knight from before had found her and lumbered up to her. It raised its sword. She manipulated her internal computers, to shut off her audio receivers. At least she wouldn't have to hear the metal in her body being torn to shreds. Sixx felt just as helpless. There would be no time to get her away. She closed her eyes. The blade came down…but never made contact. She opened one eye to see the Knight writhing in silent, agonizing pain. Behind it, the rest of the Hive were doing the same. Even the figure behind them.

Instinct made her wonder what the hell was going on. Common sense had her on her feet making a mad dash for Erek and Daniel. The second she got to them, the Hive started acting normal again. Confused but acting normal. She reached the two Ghosts holding their minds. First Erek and then Daniel; their physical forms reappearing in a flash of light.

"What the hell was that?" Kayla asked, her hearing turning back on.

"Some loud screeching noise. Seemed to come from all over the Complex." Erek said.

"We'll discuss it later." Daniel ordered, "And Kayla…good job. Let's finish this."

All three of their weapons reappeared into their hands. The Hive ran towards them again…only for the closest to be incinerated in flames and the others to go flying back. The farthest apprehensively retreated at the sight in front of them. Kayla had burst into magnificent golden flames with power enough to incinerate anything to close. Yet Daniel and Erek were completely unharmed. The Solar Light covered her like a second skin and wings of fire sprouted from her back. The Sunsinger Warlocks' special ability to infuse their Light and bring out their fullest potential. It last for only thirty seconds but in those thirty seconds, they were a walking force of nature. It was fittingly called "Radiance."

Kayla stuck both hands out, sending out several grenades at once and creating a hard stream of fire that cut a clean line through the Hive forces straight down to the end of the Terrestrial Complex.

"Kayla, I'm at full charge. I need air." Daniel commanded, "Erek, keep them in one tight spot."

Kayla grabbed Daniel and took him straight up into the sky. While hovering over the Skywatch, Kayla pushed her power into Daniel, causing him to sprout a smaller version of the fiery wings.

Then she let him go.

He dropped hard and fast, covered in Arc electricity and powered by Solar Light; he was a literal lightning bolt. Daniel slammed down into the the group of Hive. The unlucky Wizard that had been directly in line of his descent didn't even slow him down when he went through her. The impact was enough to almost knock Erek off his feet and the metal of the Skywatch groaned from the force. The air crackled with electricity and when the dust cleared, not a single Hive was standing.

"The Complex is clear and the Array is activated." Caesar chirped.

Kayla slowly floated to the ground and rejoined her team. Erek groaned loudly, echoing through the Skywatch and plopped down where he stood. After a little hesitation, Kayla and Daniel did the same. The trio just sat there for the next few minutes watching the sunset in silence. "Well if everything here is done then Eren, get me out of here. I'll see you guys back at the Tower."

"Good deal. Get some rest." Daniel said and with a wave, Erek disappeared.

Kayla was about ready to follow when Daniel stopped her. "You know for a second there…I thought you had given up." Daniel told her softly.

"I thought so too." she confessed, slightly ashamed.

Daniel's tone became slightly sterner,"Well try not to let it happen again. If there is a way, you fight. You always fight. We can't have you giving up. We need you. I have a feeling things are about to get crazier and to be honest, Erek and I wouldn't last five minutes without you." It was rare when Daniel gave a compliment. But it was never anything but what he truly felt.

She looked up at the tall man and affirmed, "I'll follow you into hell if I need to. Forward and back." He smiled under his helmet.

"Good. I wouldn't want to make Maya cry over you. Or Erek. She's grown to see you as her family as well. And so have I." Daniel didn't need to see her face to know she was surprised and he chuckled slightly at her probable expression.

"Let's go home. Caesar." He said and he disappeared. Kayla looked back at the computers and stared for a few seconds. "Thank you." she said softly and teleported back up into orbit, leaving only the soft whir of machinery to float through the Skywatch. After several hundred years, the last of the Warminds was getting back to work. And he was already making impacts.

* * *

He watched the Guardians disappear from afar. He shouldn't have underestimated them. They were strong alright. Not only fighting off the combined forces of the House of Kings and Devils but the Hive as well.

"So you failed?" A voice asked behind him, teasing; knowing full well the answer.

"Did you want me to succeed?" he questioned in a deep, low annoyed tone.

"Yes I actually did. I'm not the biggest fan of the Guardians. I can't speak for the others though. They seemed to go on good terms with everyone. But just like you, their will is not their own. My will just happens to line up with our plan. The others might be happy to hear the that the Guardians won this battle. _He _won't be happy to hear this though."

"_He_ can go straight back to hell!"

"Such bravery." the voice laughed venomously, "Save it for when you're standing in front of him, _Gluttony_."

He whirled around and grabbed the hooded figure behind him by the throat. "Watch who the fuck you're threatening, _Lust_." Lust was silent for a second and Gluttony suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. He threw the man away and dropped to one knee in pain, yanking the knife out of his belly and throwing it away. The flow of blood soon stopped and the wound healed over.

"I don't like people touching me. You'd do well to remember that." With a rush of wind, Lust disappeared. And with another growl, the man called Gluttony followed, leaving the Skywatch empty once again.


	18. Nia

_Nia_

* * *

"Daniel? Wake up. We're docking."

He opened his eyes at the sound of Caesar's voice, seeing he was right. The sky was pitch black outside but you wouldn't know judging from the brilliant lights of the City. It's why he preferred the Tower. Much quieter.

The days seemed to be getting longer and longer and Daniel couldn't be any less disinterested in it. There was some light in his life. His team. His sisters. Even his asshole of a brother. But sometimes he wondered if it was really enough. Enough to stick around…

"There you go again." Caesar intruded on his thoughts.

"What is it?" Daniel grumbled as the ship docked.

"Thinking too much. You're gonna think yourself into a worse mood than you usually are."

"Is there a reason you're so worried about how I'm feeling?"

"Because I have to deal with it too. The negative thoughts and the bad attitude that always follows. We just got back. Try to relax."

"Whatever." Daniel sighed. He stepped out of his ship in time to hear Erek call his nickname from above his head. The specific one he asked, multiple times, to not be called. Angrily looking up at Erek's voice, he looked up to see Erek standing on top of his ship…and suddenly throwing himself off. Daniel instinctively stumbled over himself to catch the idiot and Erek, laughing, landed heavily in his arms. A trio of Guardians who knew the three and saw the scene did the same, only to be silenced by a look, looking away and pretending not to notice his glare.

"Well? Why are we standing here? Let's go." Erek demanded. Daniel sighed, his head didn't need this right now. Trudging up the stairs with the Awoken man-child still in his arms, he stopped at the group of still laughing Guardians.

Kayla looked out from behind him and waved, "Shino. Mira. May. Nice to see you."

"She's lying!" Erek said in a stage whisper, earning another laugh.

"Glad to hear you're all alright." Mira said, removing a brown dreadlock from her darker brown face.

"Why wouldn't we be?" Daniel asked, earning a look of concern and confusion from her stormy grey eyes. Rare for her.

"You guys were in the Skywatch right?" she asked. Mira was short and looked deceptively weak but was a tough, hard Rank III Hunter. She did, however, reserve a soft spot for the few people she cared about.

"Yes we were. What's the problem?" Daniel asked.

"A large Darkness Zone appeared all over the Skywatch. That and the Hive and Fallen were going at each other like rabid dogs."

"We were right in the middle of it."

"We had to cut our way through it actually." Erek spoke up.

"A lot of low level, Rank I Guardians were there at the time-"

"Were there any casualties?!" Kayla interrupted.

"No luckily. The Vanguard ordered an immediate evacuation. Of the entire Skywatch. That's a lot of people. I was on my way back from Venus when I heard the announcement. So it was a bit concerning that I didn't see you guys here when I returned."

May, a soft spoken Awoken Warlock spoke up, "Was the mission a success?"

"Yeah it was. The Array was activated."

"So the Warmind really is alive. How was the situation at the Complex?"

Daniel and his team shared a look, wondering if they should tell anyone but the Vanguard what they learned there. That someone could control the Hive and the Fallen. That they were even working together. The Fallen were fierce by themselves. With the Hive? They barely made it out alive. News like that could start a panic if it were to spread. They had known the Shino, May and Mira for a while now and trusted them but this kind of info was best saved for the Vanguard.

"It wasn't too bad." Daniel said hesitantly, blatantly lying. "Them focusing their forces on the Skywatch left the Complex open for us."

"Great! Let me treat you guys to a drink then." Shino said, rising to his full height, putting his hands on Daniel's and Kayla's shoulders. At 6'8, the white haired Awoken Titan was probably the tallest Guardian around. Despite his imposing height and intimidatingly muscular frame, Shino was the most easy going person Daniel had ever met. Like Tarlowe before their father died. And just like Tarlowe, then and now, he wasn't above trying to get on Daniel's nerves.

"Can't. We need to get a report back to the Vanguard." Erek said regrettably. He probably would kill for a drink right on now. Especially on someone else's dime. Daniel couldn't say he disagreed with the sentiment.

"Alright then we'll see you all later." he called as they started to walk off, Erek still in Daniel's arms. "And Daniel?"

"Yeah?"

A mischievous smile crossed his face. "Say hi to your sister for me." Daniel immediately turned around and started walking back.

"Woah calm down! I meant Maya!" He laughed, his hands out. Daniel remembered that they had met before. "You gotta learn to control temper and besides…I can talk to Christine myself." Kayla covered her mouth to muffle her laughter. Erek was much less subtle, bursting out loud with it. Daniel looked down at him and without warning, he launched Erek at Shino. May and Mira jumped out of the way at the last minute as the two men collided and fell to the ground. A noise caught his attention and he looked up to see Holliday laughing uncontrollably from the deck above them. Daniel waved and turned back to the two guys trying to untangle themselves.

"Join us when you're ready Erek." he called as he and Kayla walking away.

"Go to hell." Erek called back before Shino shoved him off. Daniel walked with Kayla down to the the Hall of Guardians where the Vanguard usually worked. The Hall was dimly lit with a large window facing the mountains far away. All three of the Vanguard were there, which was unusual at this time of night.

Ikora Rey noticed them first. "Where have you been?" she asked straightening up, "And where is Erek?"

"Right here, Master." Erek said, jogging up behind them. Kayla started laughing again.

By the time he arrived, Cayde and Zavala had noticed them. "We sent out an evacuation order to all Guardians in the area." Cayde said, his voice usually easygoing tone gone. "Our plan was that you go back for the Array when things had calmed down. Is there a specific reason you disobeyed a direct order?"

Caesar spoke up, "We actually didn't get any messages from the Tower on any channel. We didn't know of any evacuation order until after we got back. Something must have been blocking it."

"Or someone…" Kayla whispered, deep in thought.

"Is there something you want to add, Kayla?"

She was silent for a second and then said, "Yes there is but we should really see the Speaker first. I also feel Aro, Asura and Crona should hear this as well."

* * *

"So what's so important that it couldn't wait till morning?" Asura asked as his team joined Daniel's and the Vanguard in the North Tower. "And why is the commons so crowded?

"We ordered an emergency evacuation of the entire Skywatch." The Speaker said,

"Why? Did something happen?"

"A Darkness Zone fell over the entire Skywatch. Its epicenter seemed to be the Terrestrial Complex."

"Do you know what a Darkness Zone is, Asura? Or were you asleep during that lesson too?" Crona mumbled, her eyes closed. Through his exhaustion, Aro made an amused sound.

"Small pieces of the Darkness that seeps into our world. Yes I stayed awake for that one." he answered, "What they do, however, is the part I missed."

"Darkness Zones never just appear. They have to be brought in." The Speaker said, "Those who pledge their loyalty to the Darkness become stronger in them. Those who pledge their loyalty to the Light, such as Guardians, gain severe disadvantage."

"Guardians cannot revive themselves in a Darkness Zone." Ikora continued for him, "If you're tethered to another source of Light, such as another Guardian, they can keep you here until they can revive you. But if you're not tethered or your teammates die as well, the Darkness will claim you. You'll go down. And you won't get back up."

"Why haven't we been taught to tether ourselves to other Guardians yet?" Crona asked.

"It's a difficult ability to master. You need to be able to connect to your teammates on a different level entirely. Mastering the ability is one of the tests we use to promote Guardians to Rank 2." Ikora answered.

"What was different about this one is mainly its size." The Speaker said. "We've never seen one this large and expansive before."

This time, Kayla spoke up, "We believe it may have been man made. There was someone there. Their face was covered with a helmet but they were wearing all black. They summoned three Hive Tombships to attack us. We don't know how they did it and we barely got out with our lives."

Now Aro perked up. Kain spoke up in his head, "_All black? Just like-_"

"_Yes I know._" This time out loud, Kain asked, "How did you get out?"

"Rasputin." The Speaker answered before any of them could.

"That's right. How did you know sir?" Erek questioned.

"Because after you successfully activated the Array, Rasputin made contact with the Tower and integrated himself into our entire computer network. The entire Tower network is now under his control." He said it so nonchalantly. As if he was discussing the weather.

His answer shocked the other nine into silence, the whirring of machines filling the room. "Now before you start attacking me with questions…" The Speaker said, the looks on their faces said they were ready to do just that, "No, nothing bad has happened. In fact the first thing he did was run a diagnostics of the City's defenses and pinpointed possible weak spots. I have a feeling, Commander Zavala, that he'll be getting those to you soon."

"I'll look out for it."

"Rasputin may have been the one to block the evacuation order. To ensure we protect him long enough to fully activate so he could help us." Daniel said.

"It's been several centuries since he went missing. Why does he feel like helping us now?" Cayde demanded, distrust permeating his words.

"He may have felt had a reason to return."

His answer caught Kayla's attention. "Sir. Who's Nia?" She didn't need to see his mask covered face to know that the name took him by surprise. She continued, "Rasputin kept referring to me as "Nia."

He was silent for a few minutes before answering, "During the era of the Warminds, they communicated on a frequency unmatched by anything except other Warminds. We've been discussing this since you first told us about the voices in your head. Rasputin may have not been the only Warmind to survived…"

Kayla shook her head, stuttering, "Tha-that's impossible…"

"Is anything at this point?"

"But how?"

"Your Ghost said it found you in some kind of facility in East Africa. That was the main control center for the African Warmind, Nia. We believe, at her final moment, she transferred herself into you and part of her survived your rebirth into the Light. A big enough part for Rasputin to recognize and communicate with, at least."

Kayla stammered, struggling to find the words to convey her emotions, until The Speaker put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure you have no end of questions. Trust me when I say we all have the same." This time speaking to all of them, he said, "For now, get some rest. All of you. And everything we have talked about here stays here. Is that understood?"


	19. House of Devils

_House of Devils_

* * *

"So what do you think?" The Speaker asked.

"These are some pretty good suggestions." Zavala admitted, impressed, "I'm surprised I missed any of them."

"They looked pretty minor to me. I'm sure it was an easy oversight."

Zavala sighed, "An oversight that shouldn't be happening on my watch." then he chuckled, "Good thing Saladin or Shaxx aren't here to see this. I'd never hear the end of it."

The two walked down together to the Vanguard meeting room, where Ikora and Cayde were waiting for them. For unknown reasons, Rasputin had summoned all four of them. They reached the door, only to hear Cayde and Ikora voices ringing through the door. "They are always doing this." Zavala sighed again, pausing a bit before walking in. "Okay that's enough." he called over them, quieting them down. "What are you two arguing about this time?"

"We're not arguing actually. We were just… loudly agreeing, I guess." Cayde said, crossing his arms.

"Then what is it?"

Ikora pulled out a report and handed it to Zavala. The Speaker read out loud over his shoulder.

"_Target: House of Devils High Servitor Sepiks Prime_. Rasputin wants us to go after him?"

"Apparently." she answered.

"We tried going after him. The Guardians who went in barely made it out."

"Look who he wants to take Prime down. Bottom of the page."

He did. And started shaking his head. "No. Absolutely not."

The Speaker took the paper and read the bottom.

"_Arochukwu and Kain. Asura and Spirit. Crona and Sol._"

"Why? Why them specifically? They have little mission experience and are Rank I Guardians. Aro hasn't even demonstrated the ability to use his Nova Bomb." Zavala said, agitation in his voice.

"He's got the raw power down. It's the control he has trouble with." Ikora said.

"Well, they did take down an Archon…" The Speaker pointed out.

The three looked at him. "Sir, with all due respect, you can't be serious." Ikora said.

"And it was Asura's other personality that killed the Archon. And promptly tried to attack Aro. He didn't even know he did it! We're still not even sure who Asura was before his resurrection and how he could use Golden Gun. The soldier is still a wild card and this is a mission I don't feel comfortable sending him on. He could endanger everyone else." Cayde argued.

"I'm not agreeing. But I'm not disagreeing with Rasputin either. Can we get more information on the Strike so we can avoid last time?"

"He refuses to release any more information until we agree to his terms. He just told us that Prime is a threat to him and that these three are the only ones." Cayde said, his annoyance and distrust stronger than ever .

"Hundreds of Guardians available and he chooses these three? Why? That's my question." Zavala demanded, sitting down at the table. "Why not someone stronger? Mira's team? Daniel's team?"

"Mira's team is on Mars for a few weeks and I doubt Kayla is up for the mission…" The Speaker answered.

The four remained silent after that. Rasputin's original function was devise the best plans for the defense for humanity. Which is why it was so difficult to accept his decision. What could a bunch of rookies do against a machine god like Prime?

"You do have to admit. Taking down Prime would throw the House of Devils in absolute disarray." The Speaker argued.

"Assuming the selected team can take him down." Ikora said.

"Assuming we decide to send them at all!" Zavala argued, his voice starting to elevate from its usual calm tone. "We need to come to a unanimous decision and I don't see my own answer changing anytime soon."

"I know none of you trust his choice but he must have his reasons…" The Speaker said, remaining calm. "I highly doubt he would just throw three promising Guardians out to their doom. I trust him."

"Even when we have no reason to? The other Warminds fought till death. Rasputin abandoned millions to the Darkness to save himself! And now he wants me to possibly sacrifice my daughter and her rookie teammates to save him?! We owe him nothing!" Zavala was yelling now.

"It's not about debts, Commander. We need all the help we can get. The Hive are back on Earth, Zavala. They are getting stronger. How long before they begin the preparations to bring back their monster of a god? Sai Mota, Toland, Vell Tarlowe, Eris Morn; Crota killed some of our best! The Darkness is moving closer and I rather not wait till they're strong enough before we start building our defenses. Rasputin is our best defense. You cannot deny that."

The others were silent. Zavala was seething. Ikora looked indecisive. They remained silent until a sigh came from Cayde. "I don't trust Rasputin. But I trust you." He said to the Speaker, "I change my vote."

"I guess…I guess I do to." Ikora acquiesced.

"Now are you two serious?" Zavala asked, unbelieving.

"Zavala I know how you feel…" Cayde started.

"Do you?!" Zavala said, slightly raising up from his seat.

"Yes I do! Rasputin is one of the greatest remnants of the Golden Age and he's proved that he can connect to other Warminds-

"Even partial ones like Kayla." Ikora added in.

"Exactly. If Nia survived death and rebirth through Kayla, who knows where other Warminds could be. What if one of the Jovian Warminds survived? Imagine what we could do with the knowledge and power that was lost past the Reef? Rasputin is the only one who can call out to them. If he's in danger, then the Speaker is right, it's our responsibility to protect him." Zavala rubbed his eyes, something he only did when under incredible duress.

Cayde spoke softer, " I watched Crona and Junior grow up. Both me and Ikora did. If I could send anyone else, I would and don't you dare think otherwise."

"That goes for all of us." The Speaker said.

The whole room was silent for a straight 5 minutes. Until finally Zavala let out a sigh. One full of exhaustion, anger and fear. "Fine. We start training them tomorrow. They leave next week."


	20. Connections to Light

_Connections of Light_

* * *

"Sepiks Prime sir?" Aro asked.

"A Servitor. The strongest one in the Fallen House of Devils." Zavala answered. The following morning, he had the three summoned to the training grounds, which were busy as usual. He had led them to the quiet section where meditation usually occurred. If he was going to throw his daughter and her team to the Devils, _literally_, he was going to personally oversee their training for it.

"Never faced a Servitor before…"

"Good for you." Asura mumbled sarcastically, resting his head on his fist. "What exactly are we doing, Commander?"

"I'm teaching you to tether your Light to each other because the entire area is in a Darkness Zone. So if you're all done talking, close your eyes, clear your minds and remain as still as possible." A few seconds after they did, Zavala spoke up again, "Now I want you to look the Light inside yourselves. Feel it coursing through you. Titans and Hunters may have a bit of trouble but Aro you should feel it easier than most."

He did. The world around him was pitch black dark but he wasn't. He could, for lack of a better word, feel a warm glow emanating from inside himself. Suddenly a brilliant spark darted by his face and Aro opened his eyes, making a startled sound. The spark was gone and in its place was simply his Ghost, peering at him. Asura opened one eye to look at him. "Asura have you felt your own Light yet?" Zavala demanded from behind Aro.

"Uh no sir."

"Then your eyes should not be open." Zavala came from behind Aro and squatted down in front of him. "What did you see Aro?"

"A flash of light just flying by."

"Hmm. You're farther ahead than I thought. That was the second part of your exercise. Feeling the Light of others. It wasn't just some random flash. You saw Kain. Close your eyes and focus again." Aro did as he was told, the warm glow returning.

In front of him was another spark,much larger than Kain's. Zavala's Light. Aro turned his head in Crona's direction, seeing her Light as well as Asura's. He could see Zavala get up and walk over to Crona. He could see Asura still fidgeting around, probably why he was having so much trouble. His "vision" only seemed to get better the longer he maintained it. Aro could see a multitude of Guardians outside the meditation area, even outside the training hall. Everything was so calming and simplistic, unlike the rest of his life. He almost didn't want to open his eyes again. This went on for a solid three hours until Asura and Crona had caught up to him.

After a few minutes of being allowed to stand and stretch, the third part of their training. Reach out and meld with a teammate. "Just will your Light towards them. Crona and Aro, start with reaching out to Asura." Zavala said. Sounded easy enough to them. The same process, closed eyes and cleared minds. In the darkness, the Lights started to return.

The process wasn't as easy it sounded. As a matter of fact it was difficult and mentally strenuous. Zavala commented that that was common for beginners and urged them to keep pushing themselves towards Asura. In the eye of Aro's mind, he visualized a straight beam of Light emanating from himself, slowly pushing it towards Asura, all while trying to maintain a clear head. He kept pushing the crawling Light along until it finally reached the glow that embodied Asura and melded.

For a few seconds, there was nothing but silence. And then suddenly all of reality was drowned out by a horrific torrent of rage and malice. Aro was just connected to Asura for a few seconds and yet it felt like days in the maelstrom of bloodlust that was Asura's mind that threatened to overwhelm him. A deep booming roar broke through the hellish torrent to tell him one thing and one thing only.

_"GET OUT!" _

Aro quickly opened his eyes and flinched back, wiping sweat from his neck with a shaky hand. Shaky? He brought up the arm. He was actually shaking. He took one look at Asura and slowly stood up. The last time Asura was like this, he came at Aro with a knife. He was completely unpredictable. Crona, having also connected to him, flinched instinctively at his movement before doing the same.

Asura's eyes were wide open. But instead of the usual warm pink light, they were a piercing crimson and they were staring dead ahead, at absolutely nothing. Zavala, who had been slowly pacing behind them, paused when he got a look at Asura. "Asura. Asura? Are you okay?" Zavala asked, cautiously walking closer. Asura didn't respond.

Crona moved closer to Aro and whispered, "Did you see it too?"

"I definitely heard it." Aro answered once he found his voice.

"But did you see it?"

Aro turned to look at her. "No I didn't see anything."

Crona stared at him, "Then it wasn't Asura…"

"What did you see Crona?" Aro demanded.

"…A very large doorway. Surrounded in shadows." she finally answered.

"A doorway…or a Gate?" Aro realized, "Can you give me more details?"

"It was like a dream. I can't really remember now."

So the Gate was real. And if the Gate was real, so we're the Heralds and everything else. But why did Asura have such a strange reaction to it and not Crona?

They were broken from their conversation by Zavala's voice, "I had Spirit restart him." a semiconscious Asura, being held up by him, was handed over to Aro. "There might be something wrong with the chip inside his head. But there isn't much we can do that he can recover from before the strike. Get some rest and carry on with your other training. We'll start again tomorrow." Zavala said before starting to walk away. Asura dizzily mumbled something under his breath.

"What?" Crona asked, leaning closer to hear him.

He suddenly perked up and whispered, "I said I didn't know your father owned shorts."

She gave him a disbelieving look before thinking out loud, "Actually neither did I. I just assumed he never worked out and was born that big. Are you ok? And why didn't you tell us you were still having episodes?" He didn't answer. He just meekly stared at the ground. Handing him over to Crona, Aro ran to catch up to Zavala. "Sir, did Rasputin ever tell you the purpose of this mission?"

Zavala stopped at the door and was silent for a second before answering. "Well the main reason was that Prime seems to be a threat to him. But other than that, it's the same cryptic message he's always given. _"Bury the Gate."_ "


	21. He Must Die

_He Must Die_

* * *

"Again." Ikora commanded.

Aro lifted the bottom of his shirt to wipe away the sweat dripping into his eyes and started to concentrate, on his powers and on the three target dummies ahead of him.

_"Form a grenade. Make it bigger. Form a grenade. Make it bigger."_ he thought to himself. He cupped his hands together, the Void grenade manifesting itself with a soft hum. Now came the hard part. He slowly opened his palms, pushing power into the purple sphere and letting it grow. For the first few seconds, the sphere maintained its shape but a little while after, the sphere started to jump and dance, tendrils spiking out of it.

Aro paused with his eyes wide, holding his breath. The difficulty was getting it to maintain its shape. The Nova Bomb, being a natural vacuum, had a tendency to try and implode. A simple law of physics that he had to somehow defy. The last thing he needed was, according to Ikora, "_A bolt of the Traveler's Light with the power of collapsing star_" actually _collapsing_ in his hands. Not like it would have been the first time. The sphere calmed down and Aro, still wary but only halfway there, let it start growing again. He started to get excited, "_Kain I'm doing it! I'm doing it!_" he yelled in his head.

The sphere started to dance again.

Ikora sighed and took a step back…

And the sphere collapsed, imploding and bursting with a deafening boom. Aro went flying back, landing hard on his back and getting the wind knocked out of him. When his daze cleared he saw Kain hovering in front of his face. "10 feet. At least it's getting stronger!" the Ghost said, "Before it was only 5 feet."

"Funny." Aro grunted as he painfully tried to prop himself up on his right arm and fell down again. He picked up his hand, only to see smoldering stump.

"Kain?!"

"Calm down. You blew off your arm."

"Fix it!" He yelled, too shocked to feel the pain

"I said calm down!" In a blink of light, his right forearm reappeared. He wriggled his fingers, testing it out before picking himself up again.

"You're distracted." Ikora commented standing over him.

"Is it obvious?"

"Quite."

"I'm sorry. I've just got a lot on my mind."

"Well be distracted on your own time. Again."

So he did. And the same thing occurred. He flew back again and rolled to a stop at someone's feet. He looked up to see a blue Exo peering down at him. "Kayla!"

"Having fun?" she snickered, arms crossed.

He painfully stood up and spit out something that was swimming around in his mouth into his hand and held it to the light. A tooth. "No not really." He admitted as he showed it to her. He felt the tooth grow back as Kain began healing his mangled face, "How are you? I haven't seen you in a while."

"I'm doing better."

"Are you sure? You looked pretty taken back by the Speaker's discovery."

"I admit I was. But I decided to take this one step at a time. Rasputin talks to me even more now. He says he's always been interested in a "human" point of view of the world. I guess I'm the closest he'll get." She laughed, "That's even more people talking in my head. But it's still kind of shocking. A Warmind becoming a Guardian. There's a good chance I'm not the only one. "

"Aro is a bit busy right now." Ikora's voice rang from where she was standing.

"Sorry Master, my fault." Kayla called back. To Aro, she asked, "What exactly are you doing?"

"Trying to get the Nova Bomb down. Both Asura and Crona have been able to get their super abilities down."

"Oh that?" she opened her left palm and the same Void sphere appeared in her hand , growing in size. Her entire body began to shine in a violet light. She compressed the orb in a fist, spun around and waved her entire arm in a horizontal arcing motion. Three smaller orbs burst from her hand and flew, hitting all three dummies head on. They were evaporated in purple explosion.

"Easy."

"One hand? Show off."

"I have something worth showing off. Using two hands is actually a crutch."

"Have you gotten Song of Flame down yet?" Ikora asked, coming up behind the two.

"Uh half way." Kayla admitted, "I can spread it by touch though! Daniel can vouch for me!"

"Requiring physical contact is also a crutch…"

Aro, out of the loop, asked, "What's Song of Flame?"

"It's an sub-ability of Radiance. Taking the strength boost Radiance gives you and spreading it to whoever your Light is tethered to albeit at lesser levels. I thought you were hoping to become my successor, Kayla."

"I still am, but-

"Then I suggest you make use of your time here." Ikora interrupted. Your problem is you can't spread your powers without shortening the time span of Radiance, so that's what you should work on. I can train both of you." Ikora walked back to when she was before.

"See what you dragged me into?" Kayla grumbled to Aro, who just smiled sheepishly.

_"Wipe it clean. Wipe it clean. Fleet 64. Wipe it Clean."_

The same thing again and again and again. "_Wrath_" had been making up for his silence ever since the Light tethering. He must have been disturbed. Can't blame him. Even the usually composed Crona looked slightly shaken by what they saw.

"_Has it found me?_"

Asura perked up. Wrath has never said anything else until now. _"What has found you?"_ Asura asked in his head, making his first attempt to communicate with it. Spirit listened in.

It was silent for a long time but Asura could still feel its presence. Just as he had given up, the voice came again, "_The Darkness. It has come to punish me. For losing._" The rest of its words were lost on Asura after the first two. The Darkness? What did the Darkness have to do with Wrath? More importantly, what did it have to do with him? Maybe he could pull some answers from it. Asura spoke again, "_What was it we saw when connected to Aro?_"

Another period of silence before hearing, "_The Gate_."

So that was the Gate. It looked solid, real, yet metaphysical. "_What is the Gate for?_"

"_The Darkness. It will come here. It will take this world. It will take me! It will use your friend! He must die!_"

Suddenly, Asura's hand started to move on its own accord, causing him to let out a startled yell. He felt himself lose control of his body, part by part. Wrath was taking over. "_He must die!_" Wrath repeated.

He began to push back against Wrath. A war of minds raged on the inside but on the outside, Asura barely moved. Even with Spirit's help, Wrath was just barely subdued. But before disappearing again, Wrath whispered, "_He opened it before. He will finish the job. Your sins invite the Darkness._" before trailing off into silence.

After a few minutes to absorb what Wrath just said, Asura asked, "Spirit? Are you alright?"

"Yes. Do you think what he said is true?"

"I didn't feel anything about him that told me he was lying.

"So then Aro was right. The Darkness is going to use him to come here and claim this world. And these Heralds are orchestrating everything. Which means…"

Realization dawned on him. "Rasputin really is sending us to die."

"And what's worse…" Spirit said solemnly, "Is that as Guardians, we'd be wrong to defy him."

"_Damn it._" Asura putting his face in his hands, despair washing over him. After the Archon and the House of Kings, he had an idea of the monstrosities that were waiting for him beyond the City. But at least then he had a chance of getting out alive. He still could now but not in good conscience. He couldn't bring himself to endanger everyone else just to save himself. For a few short seconds, rage took him, "Why not just untether myself from him? I could warn Crona. Aro is the only one who needs to die. Why do I have to as well?"

Spirit was silent for a minute before softly saying, "There are a lot of things I can do Asura. But judging is not one of them. So I ask this truthfully. Could you really do that to him?"

Her question shut his anger right off, guilt replacing it. He couldn't. Not to Aro. They spent 6 months going through hellish training and living together. The man was the closest thing to a family he had. The situation was hopeless, no matter how he played it out. He'd leave the Tower in two days. And for the good of the City and humanity, he wouldn't come back alive. If he had tears, they'd be streaming down his face right now.

"I just scared Spirit. I'm not ready to die. "


	22. For the Good of Many

_For the Good of Many_

* * *

Aro was pulled from his usual routine of staring at the ceiling by a knock on his door. Asura's voice rang through, "Some of the other Guardians are getting together in the lounge and Erek invited us. You in?"

They had been training for the last week and the strike was tomorrow. They were able to successfully tether and maintain it without further incident. The Nova Bomb was coming along and Ikora complimented him on his quick improvement but it still wasn't ready. He honestly rather stay in bed and stare at the ceiling. Other people just drained him.

"Nah you go on ahead."

A pause before Asura spoke again, "Daniel's gonna be there."

Then again…

"Fine. Give me a few minutes."

"Take a cold shower." Asura called through the door, laughter in his voice.

"What does that mean?" Spirit asked.

"It's uh…never mind."

After about five minutes making himself look like he hadn't in bed all day, the two walked out the door together and took the elevator to the top floor. The Moon was up, the City was shining and as usual, the Traveler hung lifelessly in the sky. They walked through the entrance of Tower Hangar towards the sound of music and voices. The lounge was crowded with Guardians, many he had never seen before.

"So you actually got him to come out. Did you have to tell him Daniel was here?" Crona asked, walking up to them with a drink in hand.

"Yes I did." Asura answered after a look at Aro, who just stood there, silently annoyed, "I didn't know you drank." Asura continued.

"I don't. This is water. I hate the taste of alcohol. Anyways you boys have fun. My father is gone and I plan to enjoy myself tonight…maybe even with some company." She shrugged and walked past them, smirking.

"Could've sworn she was a kid..." Asura commented.

"She's 21."

"And I'm 700 and getting older. Now let's go." And with that, Asura pushed Aro into the crowd. It wasn't much longer before he spotted Daniel at the bar conversing with a brown skinned woman with brunette, dreadlocked hair tied back in a ponytail and a short, white haired Awoken woman.

* * *

"Is that him?" Mira asked, taking a sip of her drink and pointing at some random man.

"No."

"That one over there, he's cute. That him?"

"No. Will you stop pointing at random people?"

"What about him? The one with the ass I could take a nap on. I bet it's him."

It was going to be sooner or later that Mira, Shino and May found out about Aro. Erek could never keep his trap shut.

"Leave him alone, Mira." May said. Despite her sympathetic tone, even she was struggling not to giggle.

Ignoring the both of them, Mira continued to point at random people, making random comments on them.

"Him?"

Daniel tiredly looked where she pointed, "Yeah." he sighed, "That's him."

"Oh." She said, swirling her drink around nonchalantly before taking a sip. "You know he's kinda ugly."

May almost spit out her drink, surprising given her extremely quiet nature. The look on Daniel's face caused Mira to start laughing. If she was trying to get a reaction out of him, it worked."I'm joking! He's pretty nice looking guy! Never realized you were so defensive of him…" Daniel looked away with a scowl so that she wouldn't see him turn red. She did anyway and her laughing only got louder. "Erek!" she said, stopping him as he walked past, "Could you go get Aro for us?" she asked, pointing towards the entrance.

"Us? Didn't realize you were into sharing, Daniel." He said, laughter building up, "Well there was that one time you got really drunk and…"

"_LEAVE_!" Daniel yelled, interrupting Erek before he could embarrass him even more.

"Gladly." Erek responded with a smirk before walking away. Mira was still laughing. Daniel started rubbing his eyes. Who wasn't trying to rile him up today?

"Aro right? It's nice to meet you. I'm Mira. This is May and you've met Daniel, I'm sure."

The brunette grabbed Aro's hand and gave it a firm shake. The Awoken simply waved. Sitting at the bar next to Daniel, Aro got a better look at the entire lounge. People were talking, laughing, some were already staggering drunk. Not for the first time since he arrived at the Tower, Aro couldn't believe that these were the people who faced certain death almost daily. It was hard for him to believe that with the dangerous creatures roaming the Solar System and the utter monstrosities on the other side of "_the Gate_" , that everything could be so light hearted. He wouldn't have believed it if he wasn't there to see it.

"Are you alright?" Daniel's rumbling voice broke his stream of thoughts.

"Um yeah. Just thinking about tomorrow."

"Well pack it in Warlock. Its a party, not one of your libraries."

Aro started to lighten up, "You sound like Asura."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Daniel chuckled, following Aro's lead.

"Take it how you wish. It wasn't meant as one."

Their talk was interrupted by a massive blue hand clapping on Daniel's shoulder, "So this is Aro I take it?" a deep voice asked loudly from behind them.

"Uhh…"

"Aro? Shino. Shino? Aro." Daniel introduced the two. With a large, drunken grin on his face, Shino grabbed Aro's hand and gave it a jarring shake. May and Mira, still sitting next to them, stuck her head out from behind Aro.

"Are you already drunk?!" she asked, disbelieving. Shino simply smiled and positioned his thumb and pointer finger close together, "A little."

"6 foot 8, nearly 270lbs and you're still a lightweight. Hope you're not too drunk for one of stories. You're expected."

"I've told them drunker than this!" he defended.

"Yes I know. I still remember having to carry you out. Now go."

Shino waved her off dismissively and moved towards the center of the room. He was apparently well known enough to command everyone's attention. He opened his mouth to talk and after a pause, yelled to Mira, "I don't know which one to tell!" causing the entire room to start laughing.

"Tell the one about the Warsat!" Mira yelled back.

"Oh yeah! Alright so here's what happened…"he said to the crowd of Guardians gathered around him. "It was a routine patrol mission in the Scablands on Mars. Banshee wants us to salvage some Hard Point Glass from the Cabal and around the same time, Commander Zavala sends out a message to everyone in the area that a Warmind Satellite may be making a crash landing there some time soon. I paid the broadcast little mind as I was a bit preoccupied at the moment…fistfighting a Cabal."

A mix of entertained groans and loud cheers erupted from the crowd. "It's a Titan tradition." Daniel explained, "You're not a master until you take down an 800lb Cabal in a fist fight."

"Most people end up fighting one when they don't have time to reload. Shino goes around looking for them." May finished for him

"He broke a few bones but I was finally able to take him down…" the cheers and applause got even louder, "but unfortunately I never even got a chance to enjoy my victory. All of a sudden, I hear things crashing around me!" He raised and dropped his massive arms to imitate objects falling from the sky. "I look up... and, you know that when you're in danger, your mind can take in so much information that time seems to slow down? I never thought it was true until that day because the last thing I see is a 5 ton , giant flaming ball of titanium barely 10 feet from my face!" He held his right hand, balled into a fist in front of his face. "Frozen for not even a full second before flattening me straight into the ground!" Mouths were gaping in the crowd at this point. One woman, laughing, had her hands over her mouth.

"May even told me that she saw my leg go flying about 150 feet away from the site!" The crowd stopped holding back its laughter. Even Aro seemed to barely contain his own.

"Everything happened so fast. Thank the Light I didn't feel any pain but it still pissed me off that nobody warned me!" He shook his head and shrugged in resignation, "I didn't even bother to revive myself. I just had my Ghost take me back to my ship. May and Mira can handle transmitting the Warsat themselves and the Hard Point Glass by themselves."

Mira raised her hand up, "For the record, we did handle the Warsat ourselves. He was unnecessary." The laughter started again, followed by applause before everything started to calm down again.

The night went on a while longer but all good things come an end. The place started to calm down and people started to leave, including Aro and his team. Daniel walked them out.

"So tomorrow is the day?" he asked.

Aro let out a sigh, " Yeah. Yeah it is."

Daniel stopped with a hand on his shoulder, "Um…Maya's birthday is coming up. She keeps asking me when you're going to visit again. Everyone is." he let out a humorless laugh, "Even Tarlowe. They were wondering if you and the others would like to come."

"I…" Aro paused, unable to formulate an answer. So no one had told him what they suspected of Rasputin. That the plan was that he didn't come back. Maybe it was better like that…

"We can talk later. Just promise me you three will come back."

Aro straightened to his full height, coming eye to eye level with Daniel and just stared at him without saying anything. Daniel's eyes shifted away.

"Sure. We'll be there." Aro finally answered. Daniel looked back and then smiled, "Great. I'll see you tomorrow." he turned around and walked back towards the lounge. After a moment, Aro left the Hangar.

Aro walked out of the Hangar and slowly made his way to the nearly empty top deck. Asura and Crona had paused there, leaning against the railing and staring at the City in silence. Aro joined them and found himself staring at the Traveler once again. Master Rahool was right. It was a sort of sight you never got used to. It's a shame that this may be his last night if Rasputin gets his way.

Asura broke the silence first, "Am I the only one who's afraid?"

"Not at all." Crona answered, "But I'm more confused than anything. If Prime really is a threat to him, why would he want us to fail?"

"He probably told the Vanguard whatever he needed to convince them. I wouldn't be surprised. " Asura said.

"He keeps saying "_Bury the Gate_", it's evident by now that I'm this Gate and if those books we found are right, the Darkness may use me to bring itself here. Rasputin may just be launching a preemptive strike. Get rid of me before the Darkness can use me." Aro finally spoke up.

They were silent for some more time after that. It made sense. Sacrifice three for the good of everyone. But nothing about it felt right. Nothing at all.

They continued to take in the City as much as they could, enjoying the sights and each other's company. It was probably their last chance.


	23. God of Devils Part I

_God of Devils Part I_

* * *

For such an important mission, the morning started off pretty typical. Crona rising early, stretching, showering. As she dressed herself, she got a good look at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were sunken, tired and scared. She had been hiding everything for the sake of her team. A facade of strength. But that's all it was. A facade. She spent most of the night awake until Sol finally put her into a restless sleep. She had already talked to her mother, her brother and his family. Everyone believed she would be coming home successful. She didn't. They were seriously unqualified for this mission. Could anyone blame her?

Sol transported her armor onto her body from where it was stored in the Tower. It felt heavy and solid as usual. It was the very thing that made her Corps stand out. She was the tank of the team. Take a hellish amount of punishment and give just as much back. It gave her a slight comfort. She slowly walked towards the Hangar where she met with Aro and Asura. With them was Holliday doing final checks on the ships, Daniel's team, the Speaker and the Vanguard. She talked with them, her friends. Something she hadn't had in awhile. When you're the daughter of a celebrity, the wrong people always want to be your friend. At least if she died, she'd go down knowing how good it felt.

"I have your ships prepped. Good luck you guys and see you tonight." Holliday announced.

See you tonight. At least someone had faith she'd come back.

Final goodbyes were said and the others walked off. Asura boarded immediately, wanting to get it over with. Aro talked a little longer with Daniel. When he also boarded, Daniel have Crona a small smile and a nod before also leaving. Her father stayed behind. For a while there was nothing said. Zavala opened his mouth and closed it again, struggling to find the words to speak until at last he said, "I promised your mother you'd come back. Don't make me a liar, alright?" He smiled.

Crona returned it, "Okay. I will." With that, Sol took her into her ship. She dropped down into her seat, letting a small tear run down her cheek, before quickly wiping it away. The ship engines started up and the trio of ships took off. Flying for the Cosmodrome.

The comms between the ships remained on but no one had anything to say. What was there to say?

Aro spoke up, "As you all should know, we've been given clearance for use of Heavy Weapons. As well as a bit of heavy ammo to begin with." he said, "I'd prefer to save it as much as we can until we meet Prime."

"Assuming we meet make it that far…" Asura grumbled.

"Stow it, Asura."

"Just being realistic."

"You weren't asked to be. Now, we'll dropping off at a path between the The Divide and the Rocketyards." Aro continued as the ships moved closer to the ground, "The Yards are full of Hive and Fallen fighting for territory. So when we drop down, it's a straight shot through the Rocketyard and into the Refinery on our Sparrows." The sound of a weapon cocking could be heard over the comms.

"Sounds like a plan." Crona responded mechanically.

It was silent again before Aro asked, "You guys ok?"

"What do you think?" Asura demanded.

Aro sighed, "Yeah. I'm still afraid too. But if Rasputin wants me dead, I plan to make him and Prime work for it."

"Is that all to the mission info?" Crona asked getting irritated by his incessant optimism.

"I still need to read the mission statement."

"Go ahead." she sighed.

He was quiet for a few seconds and suddenly, in a flawless imitation of Commander Zavala's voice, he read, "_The Fallen will continue to claw at the walls of our City unless we strike them down. Beneath the ruins of the Cosmodrome, in the shadows of an old colony ship, we've located the House of Devil's lair and the High Servitor feeding them their strength. We MUST destroy this machine god and send their souls screaming back to hell._"

Despite herself, Crona began laughing uncontrollably. "What the hell was that?" Asura asked, also laughing.

Aro just started laughing with them.

It was silent again and the ships hovered over the ground, ready to let them go. Aro said softly, "I'm not dying today. I'm not. And I'm not letting any of you die either. Can you two promise me the same?"

Neither Guardian answered. He then said, "How about this? If we get through this, I'll talk like Zavala for the next week."

Asura was silent and then began laughing again, causing Crona to restart her own. "Deal." he finally answered. Crona agreed, still less than optimistic.

* * *

"So they're really going through with it." Gluttony commented from his perch high atop the yard, watching three Guardian ships descend towards it. The ships flew back into orbit once their Guardians had touched the ground.

"Sepiks Prime will eat them alive you know." Lust, coming up behind Gluttony with another person, an armored giant who said nothing, eyes fixed on the Hunter of the fireteam.

"Not if we have anything to do with it. Keep to the shadows. The only one we need alive is the Warlock. But do not kill the others." Gluttony commanded, standing up.

"Yes I know the deal." Lust snapped, "So we've abandoned the plan to take down Rasputin?"

"The Gate is priority." Gluttony responded, rising to his full height.

"And Prime?"

"Expendable."

The silent giant who sat next to him did not respond to Gluttony's movements. He was still glaring at the Hunter on the ground until Lust thumped his shoulder, "We're leaving. Let's go."

After a few more seconds, the armored giant rose up and silently followed Lust and Gluttony.


	24. God of Devils Part II

_God of Devils Part II_

* * *

The trio of Sparrows flew through the Rocketyard, having little time to take in the sights. One thing that was noticeable were small groups of Fallen and Hive fighting against each other, just as Aro said. Any that spotted the group started to attack on sight, making the Rocketyards a bit of a hazard to travel through. That didn't seem to scare most Guardians as a few were moving around the yards. Some in groups and others solo. All waved or saluted to acknowledge the three as they flew past.

After a few seconds, they reached the Refinery, the first part of their mission. No one said a word as they jogged up the stairs and through the halls. Aro took point while Crona took the back.

As they approached a doorway, Sol spoke up, "Fallen and Hive ahead. As well as a Darkness Zone. Let's hope we can avoid the crossfire."

"We never really can." Aro said, raising his gun. He silently took cover behind a wall and peeked into the doorway to see that Crona's Ghost was right. The Fallen consisted of Dregs and Vandals while further down were Hive Thralls, Acolytes and a Knight. The team could feel the air get thick and heavy as they got closer to the fighting, exactly as the others had described a Darkness Zone would feel like.

"Get ready. This is the real deal from here on out. Crona, give 'em something to think about."

Crona plucked one of the spheres from her belt, which started glowing light blue from her touch. She lobbed it into the doorway, aiming it towards the center of the room. It bounced off the head of a distracted Dreg before exploding. The Dreg and the Hive Thrall it was fighting were sent flying from the blast. Anything closer to the blast started stumbling around and into objects, blinded by the Flashbang.

The effects lasted on a few seconds but in those few seconds, they were defenseless. Aro sprung from his cover, rifle locked on the nearest reeling Vandal, gunning it down. He struck his palm out towards an unlucky Dreg, sending it flying and disintegrating with simply the force of his will. He could feel its energy coursing through, vitalizing him immensely just like it had the first time he used it.

Aro had finished off the rest of the Fallen while Crona and Asura took care of the Hive towards the back of the room. Crona's pulse rifle rang loudly with each click of the trigger, reducing the still blinded Acolytes and Thralls to mere dust. Asura slowly walked towards the Knight, with each shot of his gun sending the Knight reeling. But Knights were not like the others. They could take several hits and keep going like it was nothing.

More hits than Asura's Hand Cannon could deliver. Just as it clicked empty, the Knight roared, stepped forward, and raised its weapon, intending to smash it down on the Hunter's head, leaving him with no time to reload.

Asura broke into a hard sprint, suddenly dropping down, still maintaining his momentum and slid straight through the gap between the legs of the wide-standing Knight, effectively dodging its attack and getting behind it. Coming to a stop behind the Knight, Asura threw back his cape and pulled out a hidden second Hand Cannon. One that was fully loaded. Before it could turn around, Asura fired 4 shots, staggering and dropping the Knight to its knees. Asura pointed the gun to the back of the kneeling, half dead Knight and with the last bullet, promptly executed it. Checking the entire room to make sure it was empty, they stopped to relax.

Asura waved the second gun, "I told you it was a good idea." he told Aro.

"And reloading?"

Asura's answer was to flip both his wrists inward, opening the revolver compartment and letting the two bullet cartridges drop to the floor. He then crouched down and ran the guns up the outside of his legs which Crona and Aro just now saw had extra cartridges attached to it. The cartridges slid smoothly into the Cannons, which he promptly flicked again, this time outward, locking the cartridges in.

"Ok I'm impressed." Aro said smiling behind his helmet. "Let's go. We're not done yet."

Crona and Aro moved ahead down a rusty flight of stairs but Asura stayed frozen where he was, his hands slightly trembling. Neither Crona nor Aro noticed him.

Now was his chance.

"_Kill him." _Wrath whispered_. "Untether from him and kill him now if you want to live! Kill him now!" _

Wrath was smart; taking advantage of Asura's focus on the mission to slip in and seize control. His hand slowly and shakily moved upwards to point the weapon at the still unsuspecting Warlock, and now there was little Asura could do about it.

"_Damn it. Not now!_" he struggled against his other persona internally.

It continued until something in the corner of his eye, caught his attention and caused him to stop. Wrath flicked Asura's head towards the broken windows facing the Rocketyard. Something over there caught his attention. It wasn't something he could see but he definitely felt a presence there. Eyes boring in on him. After a second of silence, Asura heard Wrath laugh bitterly in his head before saying, "_You're friend is lucky._"

"_Why? What is it?_"

"_You'll find out soon enough." _

Asura was broken out of his internal conversation by Crona calling his name. With one last look at the Rocketyard, he apologized and ran to catch up.

The three continued deeper into the Refinery until the reached an open space with rusty metal containers and oil canisters spread out and around the area. And the Hive and Fallen ferociously fighting each other. Aro quickly surveyed the battlefield from their hiding spot on a rusty metal walkway above the battle. They would need to take out everyone. There were Dregs, a Fallen Captain, coated in an Arc force field and Vandals. Two of the Vandals stuck to the far backside of the room, sniping any Hive they could set their sights on. If they spotted the Guardians, the Vandals would surely do the same to them.

More towards the center, and closer to the Guardians' location, were several Hive Acolytes, another Knight with an Arc powered Hive Boomer and a Wizard with a Solar shield, floating and screeching around the field. "We knew there was gonna be Hive here but nothing about a Wizard. None of us have Solar weapons to get through its shield." Crona remarked from their hiding place.

"I _am _a Solar weapon." Asura said, taking out a grenade.

"Wait!" Aro commanded, freezing him in mid-throw. He had been more focused on the Sniper Vandals in the far back. Their weapons did considerable damage. They would need to be taken down quickly. "Ok, Asura, throw the grenade. Don't worry about killing it, just bring down its shield. Then I need you to eliminate the Snipers in the back. Crona, keep the others busy and off of my back. Asura, join Crona as soon as you can."

Silently counting down from three, Aro signaled them to move. Asura lobbed his Incendiary grenade at the Wizard, which promptly exploded. The Wizard flinched back, surprised and unharmed but defenseless. Aro dropped to one knee and began pumping the screeching alien full of bullets, Hive Void Shredder blasts, flying past his head. The Wizard waved its arms, casting a field of Darkness, just like when they first encountered the Hive in the Lunar Complex.

This time Aro was too far away to be in the field's range but it still made the Wizard invisible, preventing Aro from getting a good lock on it. A blast of white light came from the area and orbs of Arc energy, surrounded in black lightning came at him. He still had a few seconds before its shield regenerated. Aro knew that the Wizard was as close to the edge of its poisonous Dark Field as possible to get a good shot but still remain hidden. He would need to time this perfectly.

Aro picked himself up, switched to his shotgun and jumped off the walkway, glided through the air and stopped at the very edge of the Dark Field before firing his Shotgun at what he hoped was its head. The weapon fired hard, the recoil being something Aro wasn't used to. He got lucky. The Wizard screamed in pain and crumbled to dust. With nothing to maintain it, the Dark Field fell, revealing two Acolytes who Aro promptly took down. Turning back to check on his team, he witnessed Crona take out the Fallen Captain before it could land a solid hit on her. A Dreg came running at her, only to be knocked away and incinerated by a lightning charged fist. Asura had already counter-sniped the Vandals ahead, rendering the room empty. But their way ahead was blocked by multiple high-powered lasers, designed to destroy anything that tried to get through.

"Let me out at the mesh generator ahead." Kain said.

Aro moved towards a buzzing machine and opened his hand. Kain appeared in his palm and flew over towards the generator, a beam of light coming from its eye as it rewrote the internal computer.

"Pretty complex! I'll need time." The Ghost buzzed, "I'll still be able to give you ammo and keep you from dying completely from here but remember, this is a Darkness Zone. You need someone else to revive you. Which means Aro will be pulled back here if he dies."

Crona looked around, "There's…no one else here."

"Mmmm not yet…"

"What the hell does that me-", A loud roar cut her off. Another Fallen Captain had come to reclaim the Refinery, followed by waves Dregs and Vandals and Sniper Vandals."Then I guess I better not die." Aro declared, reloading and cocking the Shotgun, "The Captain is mine!"

Aro ran straight for it on the left side of the room. Crona took the right, shooting the unsuspecting Fallen as they passed the oil canisters stacked at the center of the room and head for their original entrance. Asura used the same canisters as a step up to boost himself back onto the walkway, where two new Sniper Vandals had taken position. He landed on one, sticking his knife into it as he did. He ducked when the second took a swipe at him and rolled away, leaving his knife behind and shot the Vandal twice to bring it down.

"We've got Shanks coming in!" Crona called while reloading. Asura ran towards her position, snatched up his knife and threw it at a bright red Devil Shank, which fell to the ground with a dying whir and exploded. Crona punched the one behind it and shot a third one down. The gun screeched with each click of the trigger, aimed at anything her eyes could lock on. When the gun clicked empty, she immediately switched to the fusion rifle.

"I didn't realize there was so many." she said as she continued to shoot the Fallen Devils down.

"I wouldn't be surprised if there weren't more on the way." Asura commented.

"Then we need to hurry this up." Aro said, coming towards them on the walkway.

Crona peeked behind him and took notice of dead Fallen littering the ground. "What happened to the Captain?"

"What Captain?" Aro asked with feigned ignorance, reloading and cocking the empty Shotgun. Asura snorted.

"The Fallen are getting smarter!" Kain announced, "It's like the entire system is wired to a-" he was cut off by a loud blaring alarm.

"You were saying?" Crona asked as she replaced the empty battery of her Fusion Rifle and the magazine of her rifle.

"I will work faster."

"You do that! Second wave coming in!"

From the doorway, Crona noticed a familiar shimmer in the air and the shimmers were moving closer.

"Stealth Vandals coming in!" Asura announced.

"They're not very good at it." Aro commented, shooting one down as it got through an entrance way. Several more followed behind it accompanied by Dregs, Vandals and another Captain. A bladed Vandal took a hard strike at Aro who jumped back just in time and sent the alien flying with his mind. He dropped a grenade directly in front of his feet, deterring any Fallen from attempting a direct attack. From there, firing, reloading and striking away anything that got too close became instinct. This, all while jumping and gliding around the Refinery to throw off any aiming. It continued until he had moved back towards the mesh generator that Kain was still working on and hid behind a small scattering of crates. He switched to the Shotgun and peeked over the edge. The Captain was moving toward where Asura and Crona were fighting. With a running start, he jumped and glided through the air. He let gravity take ahold of him and dropped over the Captain's head, pointing his weapon directly at it. He was heard unfortunately.

The Captain turned and swiped at him.

He clicked the trigger.

The Fallen Devil's claw knocked into his leg, knocking him over. He flipped over, landed on his back painfully and rolled for a few feet before stopping. The Captain charged him forgetting that Aro's shot landed on it, dropping its shield. Aro opened his hand, calling his Shotgun back to it.

The Captain jumped. Aro aimed and fired, caving in the monster's chest and causing it to drop on top of him. He pushed it off and hauled himself up. The rest of the Fallen were finished off by his team.

"I'm close." Kain broadcasted, "But just so you know, there's more Fallen…and Hive on the way." As if in response, a Thrall's screech rang through the Refinery. Several of the creatures came running out of a small entrance close to the mesh generator. Two Wizards and several Acolytes followed them and immediately started to attack the Guardians, forcing them towards the back of the room. Fallen entered the room from the other side. But unlike how Daniel and his team described, they did not work together. Instead, once the Guardians were out of sight, they started to fight each other.

"So much for working together…"Asura said.

"Are you complaining?"

"No. Just commenting. How are we gonna do this?"

Aro thought for a moment and said, "We should focus on the Hive first. Especially those Wizards."

After a few seconds, Aro popped up to take aim at the closest Wizard, only to be knocked back down by a sniper bullet to the shoulder. "Goddamn it ,that hurt! How many of those things do they have?!"

Asura switched over to his Sniper rifle, attempting to land a shot. He dropped back down, "They're invisible."

"I'll run out and draw their attention. You throw a grenade at the spot I point to and set them on fire." Crona said, "They can't make the flames invisible." Without another word, she dashed from her hiding spot and started shooting at the walkway. Asura prepares the grenade and on her mark, threw it. Her plan worked. The Sniper Vandals were set ablaze by the grenade, allowing for Asura to quickly take them down.

By the time Asura had taken down the Vandals, Aro and Crona successfully killed both Wizards and all three started to work on the rest of the enemies in the Refinery. Until Sol spoke up, "We got a problem. We've got a Fallen Baron on his way. A...Naksis, I believe."

"Everyone focus on the entrance! Kain, pick up the pace!" Aro called out. An even larger version of a Fallen Captain entered the room, armed with an equally larger Shrapnel Launcher and electric blue shield. The rest of the Fallen rallied around Naksis and the reinforcements he brought with him. The Fallen started to attack with renewed vigor, pushing the three back towards the mesh generator. Naksis teleported forward, knocking Crona back several feet with a swipe of his arms. Aro and Asura continued to shoot the monster but their bullets did nothing to slow its advance.

Naksis jumped forward again. Aro's gun ran dry with no time to reload. Naksis struck him across the head hard. Guardians were sturdier than most but the attack still twisted Aro's head and sent him flying backwards. He could hear a few bones in his neck break, which he couldn't move until it healed a few seconds later. Even their Arc weapons did nothing to bring down its shield, nor stop its advance.

In a desperate maneuver, Crona ran at the Baron. It raised its claws as if accepting Crona's challenge. "One shot left." she thought. she ran, dropped down, slid past the Baron and fired the last charge blindly but in the general direction of the monster's head. Her gambit paid off. The Baron's shield went down and it staggered dizzily from the attack. "Asura! Shield's down!" she called out painfully.

Asura lifted up his , pushing all the Light he possibly could without collapsing into is palm. He brought down and aimed the flaming pistol straight at the defenseless Naksis. He discharged all three shots from the Golden Gun, finally bringing the Fallen Baron down. It jerked violently with each shot and evaporated into nothingness with the final one.

"I got it!" Kain called out, "I've set it on a timer and re-wired the generator! Let's move!"

They didn't need to be told twice. Asura crossed the entrance and Aro followed. Crona had gotten herself up but was staring at the wall ahead of her.

"Crona, let's go!" Aro yelled.

With one final look at the wall, she ran and threw herself through before the lasers came back up. A Dreg that tried to follow her and got caught was incinerated instantly.

"Crona?" Asura called her name, concerned. She didn't respond. He said it louder, catching her attention. "What's wrong? We got through!"

"I know. It's just…" she said quietly, "I missed."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, my shot didn't land on the Baron. It hit the wall behind it."

"But you yelled "shields down"?"

"I don't know, I just reacted. But I'm sure I didn't hit him."

"Well something did…"

"We figure it out later." Aro decided, "But it's dead. Nothing to worry about."

After helping Crona up and while attempting to all catch their breathe, Aro examined the area they were now in. A large rusty staircase stood to the left of him and iron crates littered the area sparsely. Snow crunched under his boots as he walked towards the center. There was no roof to stop the snow. Kain spoke up, "We go straight through here and we should enter an area called "The Blast". It's right before the Devil's Lair."

"Why's it called "The Blast"?" he questioned.

"A riot occurred for entrance onto the last colony ship during the Collapse and an oil pipeline exploded. Several thousand people died and the Cosmodrome was abandoned."

"We should keep moving." Aro trudged for the other side of the path with his team close behind.

They ran into a small group of Fallen that was dispatched without much trouble until the exited the Refinery and entered an open area filled with massive pieces of destroyed buildings and broken machinery, blackened by fire. On the other side, a large red flag with the House of Devil's insignia on it waved in the air.

"The Lair is just up ahead." Asura's Ghost said.

"Just on the other side of all those Devils...great."

A Fallen ship flew towards the center of The Blast. A loud groan emanated from it and a large brown metal object detached itself and fell to the ground, landing on its belly. Slowly, six large legs raised from the center and pushed against the ground, lifting the machine up which proceeded to balance itself. A small Gatling gun was attached to the center of its red colored head. A bigger version of the gun came out of its back and an even longer and bigger heavy weapon whirred around, locking into position.

"What…the hell…is that?"

"A Devil Walker." Spirit explained. "The last team to attempt this mission never made it this far."

The heavy cannon on the Devil Walker whirred to point at where the Guardians were standing. After a few seconds, It spread its legs out, bracing itself, and aimed a red tracker laser right at Aro's feet.

"_MOVE_!" he screamed.

With a resounding boom, the Walker's cannon fired.


	25. God of Devils Part III

_God of Devils Part III_

* * *

The Walker's cannon fired.

The Guardians ran forward to escape the blast. It hit the ground behind them, sending them all flying forward. Asura and Crona hit the ground again hard. Aro, being closest to the blast, kept rolling until he slammed into the old warehouse in front of the entrance, hard enough to almost cave in the wall. He coughed violently and a dark viscous fluid flew from his mouth and covered his visor. He struggled to breathe until Kain healed his injuries and cleaned his helmet.

"Three broken ribs and one punctured deep into your lungs but it's fixed." his Ghost informed him.

"Thanks." Aro groaned.

"There's a building over there on the other side of the field where we can attack and use as cover. We're too exposed out here. I can summon your Sparrow so you aren't as easy a target getting there. Crona will go with you. Asura will take the other side." His Sparrow appeared in front of him. Aro painfully picked himself up and trudged over to it. Crona joined him and Asura was already on his way.

"We got another attack oncoming!" This time the laser was aiming at the shed. Aro hit the throttle just as the Walker blew the shed apart. The two hopped off their Sparrows once they had reached a small opening in the wall of the building Kain was referring to. The ground descended in a small slope and through the wide opening at the end of the slope, the Devil Walker could be seen close up.

"We're a bit close aren't we?" Crona commented.

"It's the only place around here that provides cover from the other Fallen at the center of the area." Kain responded, "Walkers focus on where most of the damage to themselves is coming from. If you two stay here, the Walker will focus on this side."

"And we want that?!"

"Asura can then keep attacking with the Walker ignoring him. One of you goes down, there's a second person here to revive them. Keep distance between yourselves and aim for the legs!"

"If you say so!" Aro yelled as he started firing at the closest leg. The Walker's smaller turret began responding in kind, creating tiny bullet holes in the walls of the building. Crona was farther back, focusing on the same leg. The large turret on its back charged up blue and started firing large Arc energy projectiles at Aro. He leaped out of the way just in time, his original spot stained black and blue.

Suddenly, doors on the sides of the behemoth opened and several Devil Shanks flew from its body, immediately attacking the Guardians. Unable to simply ignore it, Crona started to shoot them out of the air. The Walker's large turret fired again, this time point blank at the Titan. She was knocked back by the impact, knocking the air straight out of her. Aro threw a grenade straight at the machine, using the distraction to pick Crona up and drag her to the back of the building, out of the sight of the Walker. After the attack wore off, the Walker swiveled its cannon towards them, the red laser appearing once again. The building was too enclosed . They couldn't jump or move out of the way in time.

The Walker braced itself...and suddenly jerked and collapsed. It's head fell forward, exposing its central engine. "Kain, what happened?!"

"Asura hit it! Hurry, we have little time!"

Aro picked up the Titan and hauled her to the back of the room, out of sight of the Fallen. He set her down, only for her to pick herself up again. "I'm fine. Just tired. Let's get back to it." she said, not very convincing. They both moved back towards the Walker to see Asura using his machine gun to attack its exposed brain. But Kain was right, they had little time. The Walker corrected itself and turned to face Asura. He barely dodged in time to avoid an attack from its larger turret which destroyed the wall of the building Asura was taking cover in. Aro and Crona resumed shooting at it in order to draw its attention away from him. Attacking and running away when it shot back. The exchange seemed to last for hours.

At least until reinforcements arrived…

"We've got a Captain heading to Asura's position!"

"There's no time to get over there." Crona said. And then into her comms, "Asura, close your eyes and ears!"

"Do you not see the Captain?!" he yelled back.

"Just do it!" She yanked an orb from her belt, ran to the opening as close to the Walker as she safely could and launched the grenade straight over the machine. The grenade landed right at them and detonated, knocking Asura over. The Captain was blown back by the explosion, it's shields down. Asura promptly shot its head off. Distracted, Crona took her focus off the Walker she was close to. But it never lost focus on her.

"Crona move!"

She started to run back to the building. Aro ran towards her. The Walker braced itself and the red laser appeared. There was no time for the both of them to avoid the blast. Crona grabbed Aro's hand.

The Walker fired.

On instinct, Aro pushed Crona as far back into the building as he could. He turned around in time to see a fiery light…

And everything went black.

* * *

Crona hit the ground hard and looked up to see what the Walker hit. Her heart sank when she saw Aro. His helmet had been destroyed and his face was covered in soot from the blast. It wasn't her first corpse but it was the first face she'd seen. Memories of Asura and the Archon started to rush back and she started to freeze up, just like last time. The large turret on the Walker's back fired up and Crona quickly got to her feet and moved back, leaving Aro's body behind. The Walker, despite the damage, was still actively moving with no signs of the damage affecting it. Rasputin was expecting them to beat this monster and the even stronger one it was defending.

No…they weren't expected to win. They were expected to die. Aro was hanging on but just barely. Rasputin just needed the two of them killed.

Asura's voice broke her out of her fear. "Crona, did something happen to Aro?"

"He's down!" she answered.

"Can you reach him?"

"I-I don't…damn it! This was Rasputin's plan all along. Why are we prolonging it?!"

"He saved your life! Are you just planning to abandon him?!"

"What's the damn point?!"

"_ANSWER THE FUCKING QUESTION!_"

Crona was taken back by his language and volume. She never knew he could get angry like that. His voice lowered, "Aro threw you away because he still believes we can beat it and Prime. He threw you out of the way because he isn't done fighting. Do you plan to betray his trust?"

Crona said nothing.

"Can you reach him? Yes or no?"

She didn't answer. Her mind was everywhere. Back at the Tower, with her father. At home, with her mother. Playing with her nephew. And with every friend she had recently made.

She silently cursed and asked, "Can you distract him?"

"Yes I can."

"Then that's your answer. I'll wait for your signal."

A few seconds went by and an explosion caused the Walker to turn towards Asura's position. "Now! Go now!"

She broke into a hard sprint for Aro's Ghost. Just as she reached his body, she found Kain floating above it in a bubble of light. She placed her hand against it for two seconds, just as she trained. In a flash of light, Aro's body reappeared with his gun in hand and helmet on his head.

"Thanks." he said, stretching his shoulder.

"Thank me when we get out of this."

A loud crash shook the area and almost knocked the two off their feet.

"Guys I'm exposed!" Asura yelled. The Walker had destroyed the building he was in and he was barely able to jump out in time. The Walker gave him no time to collect his surroundings before setting the smaller turret gun on him. A Vandal moved in front of him and was promptly knifed down but his hesitation was all the Walker needed. The smaller bullets moved up Asura's back, dropping him to his knees. Aro and Crona started throwing everything they had at the Walker in order to draw its attention. It didn't work. The large turret fired and collided with his back sending him flying against the Wall dividing the Blast from the rest of the Cosmodrome. Spirit appeared above his body.

"It's getting desperate." An idea popped into Aro's head. Making sure he was covered, he put his hands together and started pooling his energy into one point. The Nova Bomb got bigger and bigger before it collapsed, just like it always had. The burst knocked him over. Growling in fear and frustration, he tried again until a hand appeared on his shoulder.

"Go get him." Crona said. With a look at her, Aro started towards his position. The other Fallen that had been at the center of the Blast took notice of him. He took cover as the shooting started.

He routinely moved around the small area, pushing through the Fallen with his Shotgun. A loud boom behind him caught his attention. He turned to see Crona go down as well. He was the last left.

Aro finally broke through the wall of Fallen and moved his hand to revive Asura until something suddenly hit his back, knocking him into the mud. He quickly turned around to see what hit him and slid to the side to avoid another shot. High in the building that Crona had taken cover in was a Sniper Vandal, patiently waiting for a good shot. He got himself up, moving desperately towards Asura again.

A red laser appeared next to him . The Sniper took another shot, knocking him over once again.

"Damn it!" he roared in pain. The Walker braced itself, the cannon warming up in his direction.

"Damn it…" the words stuttered from his mouth as his heart dropped into his stomach. He couldn't even get himself to stand up. He could barely breathe. His eyes squeezed shut.

He heard the Walker fire…and something hard and solid behind him blew out.

His eyes flew open, his breathing restarted and he turned to look behind him to see a massive hole in the wall leading to the Refinery. It missed? By only a few feet but still…

"No time to think." He placed his hand against Spirit and pushed his will into the Ghost to bring his friend back. But the Walker was quickly adjusting its aim.

"Aro! In front of you!" Kain said. His Sparrow appeared. He and Asura got on as another Sniper bullet flew by his head. Just as its larger turret fired, Aro hit the throttle, moving them out of the way. They went around the destroyed shed at the entrance from the Refinery. The Walker kept track of the two as they moved towards Crona's location.

Getting to her, Asura hopped off and quickly revived her. "What took so long?"

"I'll explain later. It's weak. We can finish it!"

Crona was silent and then asked, "Is there an upper level to this building?"

"Yeah but there's a Sniper up there."

"Not a problem. Just distract the Walker." She ran out of the hole in the wall and looked at the building to see if there was a way into the upper levels. Asura was right, there was a Sniper up there, looking for a target. She'd have to do this quietly and quickly. She started running and jumped up into the air, grabbing a ledge on the building. She started to scale it, out of sight of the rest of the Fallen. She got to the hole at the roof of the building and when the Vandal got too close, she grabbed its leg and tossed it off the roof. The Vandal screamed on the way down before it was abruptly cut off, landing on its neck. Served it right.

She pulled herself in and took in the Walker from above. Aro and Asura were successfully holding its attention. The machine swiveled its cannon towards Aro and Asura's location. She had no time to catch her breathe. She moved back.

The cannon locked into place…

She broke into a hard sprint…

The red laser appeared and she _jumped_ off the building. Her entire body burst into lightning and she shot straight down towards the Walker, made contact with its body and like a bullet, _pierced its body, _and exited the other side.

The Walker stumbled from the impact and tried to right itself again before falling over and exploding, it's cannon flying off its back and crushing a Dreg.

"Door's open!" Sol said.

"Crona, let's go!"

She got up and ran for the building with the House of Devil's flag at the top of it. Several of the Fallen tried to follow them until Aro turned around and unexpectedly fired a rocket at the ceiling, collapsing the entrance.

He fell to his back in exhaustion, trying to calm down. Asura followed suit, leaning against a wall. Crona joined them.

"Prime is just through here. We've made enough noise. He must be waiting for us." Asura's Ghost said softly.

No one responded. No one needed to. After about fifteen minutes of silence, Crona then asked, "So what happened? Did something hold you up from reviving Asura?"

"The Walker almost shot me down."

"What happened?"

"It…it missed."

Now Asura was disbelieving, "It missed?"

"Yes it did. Hit the wall behind us. Last I checked, it was aiming right at me. The laser was on my chest!"

That shut everyone up. They all almost died. The thought was terrifying.

"Prime's bodyguard almost killed us. We've gotten lucky each time. Something just happened to knock the Naksis' shield down for us to kill him. Something just happened to knock off the Walker's aiming! Now we're about to walk up to Prime and test luck again." Asura said, falling back against the wall. After a few minutes of staring at the ground, he bounced up, "Well, I'm ready."

Crona followed suit, stretching her back. Aro stood last, using the wall for support. After a look at them, they took a right turn into a dimly lit room. Scratches were laced all over the wall and a large flag for the Fallen House of Devils. Skulls on stakes littered the room.

Human skulls.

"So this is the Devils' Lair…" Sol remarked.

"What gave it away?" Asura asked, picking up a cracked skull, tossing it up into the air and catching it multiple times while observing the Lair. Aro stopped at a large double door. "He's through here." He said, mostly to himself. He turned back to the others. They were getting themselves ready. Asura had hooked the skull onto his belt. He shrugged when he noticed Aro saw it,

earning a small chuckle. At least he was confident.

Aro pushed and trudged through the double doors…and took a step back, confidence gone.

Sepiks Prime was _massive_. Even bigger than the Walker. The High Servitor had a force field around it and a circle of Fallen bowing to it.

Crona roared and shot down one of the Fallen. Aro snapped out of his daze and he and Asura followed suit. At least get rid of its friends. They weren't the real problem and were easily taken down, compared to the things they just fought. They regrouped to face the Servitor.

Sepiks Prime turned to face the three, its massive "eye" peering at them for several long seconds, slowly rising higher into the air.

It dropped its shield… and let out a massive bolt of energy straight at the team.


	26. God of Devils Part IV

_God of Devils Part IV_

* * *

Aro didn't even think about his reaction but he was still able to throw himself forward against a stack of old metal crates, using it for cover. As many times as he's been shot at in the last day, you learn that you don't have time to think. The place he was originally standing was red and black with Void fire. He looked back to check the position of his team. In a torn down room to the far left of the entrance, Asura and Crona had taken cover, peeking over the the edge of the window to check Prime's position.

They knew it was big but seeing the Servitor in person was admittedly shocking. It looked like the images Aro had seen but with long, thin spines sticking out of its shell.

After a few seconds to gather himself, Aro jumped out of cover and began shooting Prime. Following his lead, Crona and Asura came out from their cover as well. Sepiks Prime shook from the impact but had little reaction to their assault. Without warning, Prime shot back at the team, directly at Crona. She jumped out of the direction of the bolt but was still sent flying some distance away from the area of impact. Prime fired again before she could stand herself up. Aro was just able to tackle her away from the attack just before it landed. Both of them fell off the iron walkway of the Lair and onto the snow covered ground. Asura switched to the Sniper Rifle and began shooting at its eye, hoping to buy his team some time to get themselves together. His attack won Prime's attention. The Servitor flying around the Lair did little to throw off Asura's aim and within a few seconds, Aro and Crona had rejoined him in order to back him up and keep Prime on the defensive.

"We've got Shanks incoming!"

The tell-tale whirring alerted the team to their arrival anyway. Their main function was to draw fire away from the important targets and they were good at it. Prime had no problem blowing the Shanks apart to attack the Guardians, making the situation even more perilous.

The sheer number of Shanks and Prime along with them pushed them back into the shed where Asura and Crona originally took cover in when they invaded the Lair. It was a surprise it was still standing.

"We're not doing so good out there…" an explosion interrupted Crona and shook the entire Lair, "It's not feeling anything we throw at him and I'm running low on ammo." A small white object with a grey line running through its center appeared her hand. A Primary Ammo Synth pack. "Go ahead Sol. I was hoping to save this." After a few seconds, Sol announced, "Ok we're restocked."

"So now what's your plan?" Asura asked, "Snipers seem to do something to it but not much."

"Heavy weapons." Aro decided, "I'll take the far side. Crona,,you'll go up the stairs and Asura, you'll stay here. Just like with the Walker."

An explosion rocked the shed, "Now! Go now!"

Aro ran and took the far right side of the Lair, near a small set of rusty stairs that led down to the snow covered ground of the Lair. Closer to the shed they used as cover was a larger set of stairs that led up to a second walkway that overlooked the entire Lair. Crona ran up the stairs while Asura stayed at the base. Aro switched from his Auto to his Launcher and slid the bulky head open, exposing a large tube. Sliding a large cylinder into the tube, he straightened the head, slid it back and locked it into place. He balanced the heavy weapon on his shoulder and used the scope to lock onto Prime. He clicked the large trigger. A loud boom emanated from machine and it kicked upwards slightly in recoil. A flaming projectile flew from Aro's position and collided violently with Prime and exploded. Sepiks Prime shook itself off and stared at Aro, distracting it from a second onslaught, this time from Crona. Prime shook from the hard impact, turning towards Crona this time. A third onslaught, this time from Asura, was continuous. Aiming his machine gun straight at Prime's weak spot; its eye. This exchange continued and Prime was doing everything to avoid the attacks. They were obviously doing considerable damage to the machine. A flicker of hope started to grow in all of them. At least until they ran out of rockets and Asura's gun clicked empty.

Prime started to shoot bolts of Void energy hard and fast. Too fast to completely dodge and so hard that the walls and floors started to crack on impact. Aro switched back to his Auto rifle and desperately started to try and put Prime back on the defensive. Just like before, it did little to nothing. A blast smashed against the wall just behind Aro's head, causing him to flinch and duck to the ground instinctively. Large pieces of burning metal crashed all around him but he remained in place, to dazed to move. He was suddenly hit by a fast moving solid object and knocked some feet away from where he was originally standing, knocking the wind out of him. Asura had tackled him from a sprinting start, moving him out of the way of a large beam of steel that Prime had knocked down from the Lair's walls. He forced Aro down a pair of stairs towards the dirt ground under the iron walkway of the Lair. The whole place was shaking above their heads, threatening to come down.

"Guys we have trouble!" Crona called.

A Fallen ship quickly descended from the sky; the roar of its engines drowning out nearly all other noise. It was almost unnoticed until it got close enough. Fallen Vandals and Dregs quickly dropped from the vehicle and entered the fray, some being blown away by Prime's attacks. A large group of Fallen began moving towards Aro, who was struggling to keep them at bay by himself. The others were too cut off from him to assist.

He formed and threw a grenade at the group, hoping to open a space to get his back off the wall. The grenade exploded…and so did the Fallen. The impact of the the blast shook the entire Lair. Aro looked down at his own hand, slightly stunned. His grenades have never been that strong. Did he do that?

Prime whirred loudly, breaking Aro from his thoughts and flew towards him. Aro instinctively jumped to the side and barely dodged Prime's charge. Prime immediately stopped, turned around and charged again. Aro stood and barely dodged again. Crona and Asura were desperately trying to break through the wall of Fallen to reach Aro, who was cut off from the others by Prime. When their guns ran dry, they resorted to their fists and knife. Aro was doing everything he could to keep from being crushed or blasted apart. He was getting tired. He picked himself up only to see Prime coming at him again. He jumped to the side and at the same time, threw a grenade in Prime's path. Prime shook off his pathetic attempt at an attack and charged once again. This time, Aro mistimed his jump and was side swept by the massive machine. He was knocked nearly twenty feet to the side and hit the ground hard on his stomach, knocking the wind out of him again. His collarbone had been broken on impact.

Prime came around again…

"Aro get up!" he just barely heard Asura yell into the comms. With all the blood in his ears, he could barely register sounds. He stood on shaky legs and dropped down to one knee again.

Prime charged…and suddenly slammed into the Lair's left wall. It's impact created a large crater and nearly knocked the entire wall down. Whirring confusedly, it struggled to remove itself from inside of the wall. On its right side was…a small crack. Almost like something hit it. Aro was stunned from confusion until a loud smash from the large stairs on the other side of the area. Flicking his head over, he saw several of the Fallen that were crowding the stairs evaporate in electricity after Crona smashed the ground with a Fist of Havoc. Asura ran backwards and then charged towards Crona and jumped. Crona put her arms above her head, allowing Asura to land on them before boosting him into the air. His gun exploded in fiery orange Light and he instantly unleashed all three Golden Gun shots at the crack in Prime's side before he dropped to the bottom floor again.

The crack in the giant Servitor's side got larger with each burning hit. Aro used the distraction to get out of its range and regroup with his teammates and Asura met him halfway to the stairs, where Crona still was. Enraged, Sepiks Prime ripped itself from the wall and began firing blasts erratically and with much more force than before. One of his blast hit the entrance of the Lair, collapsing it in. Another knocked down a bar from the stairs, dropping it slightly from the lack of support. Crona slipped down from the drop of the upper walkway, using the railing to keep herself from falling over.

Prime shot another blast, destroying another support beam and dropping the walkway even further to the ground. Crona fell over with a yell and slid down the collapsing structure.

Prime started to glow bright purple and teleported forward towards where she was struggling. Only it did not slow down…

"Get away from her!"

But it was too late. With no time to evade its charge or even react, Crona looked up just in time to see the Servitor smash into her and the walkway with its full force, bringing it down with a loud destructive crash.

"_CRONA!"_


	27. God of Devils Part V

_God of Devils Part V_

* * *

Crona lay lifeless against the wall, her armor cracked, surrounded by the destroyed pieces of the stairs and the walkway. Her helmet had been broken off and blood was running down the corners of her mouth. Her pure white hair blew in the wind, her open eyes stared at nothing and above her head, Sol kept her consciousness safe. But just barely…

"Crona!" Asura yelled before starting to run for her. Aro grabbed him before he could get too far and tossed both of themselves behind cover. Asura knocked his hands away, "What the hell are you doing?!"

"You can't just run out there! She'll be fine as long as we can manage to stay alive. Now is not the time to start panicking!"

Aro wished he could believe how own words. They were drained from the fighting and Prime was showing no signs of slowing down.

"Well then what's the plan?"

Aro thought for a moment. They would need to draw Prime away from Crona and keep his attention while someone revives her. It wasn't the best plan but it was all he could come up with at this point. "Kain, I need more rockets."

"That won't do anything to kill him." Asura protested.

"I don't need him dead! I need him distracted while you run for Crona!" he responded as he reloaded his Launcher, "When Prime moves away, go for her." With a final look, Aro ran out of cover, locked on to Prime's back and fired a rocket. The projectile knocked Prime slightly forward and earned its attention.

Aro reloaded and fired again. Prime teleported out its path and the missile smashed against the wall. Readjusting to Prime's position, Aro reloaded and fired again, only to miss again. He only had a few rockets left but he had managed to move Prime away from Crona and Sol. While Aro kept Prime preoccupied, Asura made a run to revive Crona. Aro dodged to the side to avoid an attack from Prime before firing once again. Prime's eye charged and Aro prepared to jump away from its attack again only for Prime to suddenly turn around and fire straight at Asura. The attack collided with his back, setting his cloak on fire and knocking him onto the ground.

"Get up, Asura!" Aro yelled as he reloaded and fired another rocket. Prime dodged it once again.

Spirit put out the flames and repaired his armor as he stood up on shaky legs and began running again. Prime was focusing on him. "Kain, I need another rocket!"

"We're out!" Kain responded.

"Shit…" he whispered, switching to his Auto Rifle, which did nothing to harm the Servitor or even earn back its attention. Prime fired again at Asura, who had just barely reached Crona before being sent flying backwards from a direct hit. Crona's body remained unmoved.

With both of his legs destroyed and not yet healed, Asura, through the astronomical pain, resorted to crawling desperately towards Crona. Another blast from Prime made his efforts in vain. The impact sent him flying off the lower deck and on to the snow covered ground. He struggled to bring himself up again before his body finally gave out on him and the world around him went silent.

He had almost reached Asura when Prime teleported and body slammed him several feet backwards. Just as he hit the ground again, Prime fired a bolt of energy that knocked him back even further. He coughed and slowly got up to his knees to see Prime hovering directly above him. Aro froze in place and just stared in mind numbing fear. He was backed into a corner with no where to run

Prime's glowing core started to spin rapidly, creating a powerful vortex with Aro at its center. The pain was one of the worst experiences he had in his short 6 months of life. He screamed but could not actually hear himself over the roar of the Servitor's vortex ripping him apart. His visor cracked and his bones followed suit. The suction was strong enough to start lifting the man off the ground.

He wasn't feeling despair at this point. He couldn't feel anything except a desire to die and end the pain. He promised the others he'd get through them through this. He contemplated telling Spirit and Sol to leave him behind. Save themselves. They could but why didn't they? He had brought them nothing but hardship. They owed him nothing.

Still…it was nice to have known them all.

Aro could his heart starting to slow down and his will to live followed it. He felt tired; sleepy. Something told him he shouldn't fall asleep but he couldn't be bothered to find out what it was. Did he not deserve his rest?

He closed his eyes…and suddenly dropped to the ground. He roared from the agony of being touched by anything. When the initial burst of pain passed, he looked up to see that Prime had flown away from him and was shuddering violently. A closer look showed that Prime had been hit. Right at its core. Cracks were starting to grow in its eye. Asura and Crona were still dead. But who hit it?

His cracked visor repaired itself. "_We're not done yet._" Kain assured him. He looked down at his hands. His dark brown forearms were red and smoking from being exposed to Prime's attack. Despite his body's almost mind shattering protest, he stood himself up and cupped his burning, exposed hands together. His will to live had returned but he had little time and this might be his biggest gamble. Focusing the last of his power, he started to create the Nova Bomb again. Just the creation of the energy sphere started, his vision grew blurry but he pushed on. Prime was recovering.

"No no not yet…"the sphere was starting to dance like all the other times. A sign that meant it was ready to collapse. He had no more time. Prime was staring directly at him.

The behemoth teleported towards him, intending to crush him into the wall like it did Crona. Milliseconds became hours. The very instant Prime disappeared, Aro knew where it would reappear thrust his hands and the Nova Bomb forward.

Prime's enormous form reappeared in front of him and the crack in the Servitor's eye colliding with the energy bolt.

Prime froze. Aro did as well. And then the crack in its core started to grow. Light shone through it. Then without warning, Prime's armor blew off. It's exposed core started to spin rapidly, throwing out gusts of wind strong enough to knock Aro several feet away from the epicenter until a massive explosion rocked the entire lair.

And then, for the second time that day, everything went black.


	28. Your Sins Invite the Darkness

_Your Sins Invite the Darkness_

* * *

The dust started to fall and the ringing in Aro's ears finally came to a stop. He looked at his arms and saw that they were healed from the damage of the explosion. Looking around, he surveyed the area. Purple pieces of metal, blackened by fire, were scattered all over the Lair.

Purple like…a Servitor.

"Asura?! Crona?!" He asked, looking around for them. For a few harrowing seconds, there was nothing but silence. Then their individual groans came through the comms. In pain, exhausted but alive. Aro even felt lighter, like a pressure had removed itself from him. The Darkness Zone had been lifted by Prime's destruction.

Aro fell back, just laying on the ground and let out a strangled laugh, mixed with joy, fear and relief. They won. Rasputin had lost.

"So that was his plan all along? Ha, they don't call 'em "Warminds" for nothing." A snide tone rang through the Lair. One time Aro did not recognize. He sat up to see who was talking and as the smoke cleared even more, he finally noticed a hooded figure with a cape billowing out from behind it. A Hunter?

"You were told not to be seen!" came another deep voice from behind the Hunter.

"Yeah well you also told us to keep him alive. It was one or the other." the Hunter retorted, annoyed simply by the sound of the man's voice. Aro heard shuffling next to him and turned to see an exhausted Asura and Crona come up behind him.

Two others walked into the others. A fairly tall, robed Guardian and a massive, armored Guardian. A Warlock and a Titan. All 3 garbed in pitch black. Did the Vanguard send them as reinforcements? If so, why weren't they alerted?

"Who are you?" Aro asked and then silently grimaced. It hurt just to talk.

The Warlock raised his arms non-threateningly. "There is nothing to worry about. We're of no threat to you." he said in a smooth, charismatic voice, his original anger gone. Then to everyone around or maybe just to himself, he said, "Rasputin is much smarter than we gave him credit for. Using you three as bait in order to lure us out of hiding." He chuckled slightly, "He knew this mission would have failed without us interfering."

"We asked who you are. Not your life story." Crona repeated Aro's question. The Warlock turned his head towards them, silently observing the three. And then he reached for his helmet and said, "The air here is safe. I'll show you mine if you show me yours. Deal?"

"You're too polite." the Hunter spat, disgust in his voice. The Titan remained silent, staring at Asura.

After a few seconds, Aro nodded to both Asura and Crona and the three took off their helmets, getting a smell of the Cosmodrome's air for the first time. The Warlock chuckled and pulled off his helmet. The man had the trademark blue skin of the Awoken, long white hair, tied back by a purple ribbon. With high cheekbones and full lips, the man was strikingly handsome. Despite his initial protest, the Hunter followed suit. The silent Titan did the same. The Hunter was also an Awoken albeit with short pitch black hair. The Titan was a bronze colored Exo with a round metal head. Two Awoken and an Exo. The only similarity between the three were their eyes. They were blood red. Just like…

Aro's gun reappeared in his hand. "Who are you?!" he demanded once more, gun raised to eye level and trained on the Awoken Warlock's forehead. He looked down, laughing slightly before raising his hands and saying, "We're still not a threat if that's what you're wondering. If you mean my name, you should probably ask your master. I'm sure your Ghosts by now have recorded pictures of our faces."

"_I have actually._" Kain said inside his head.

Out loud, "What do you know about the Vanguard?"

The Warlock started to pace, "Well I'm pretty sure it's still Cayde, Ikora and Zavala correct? Funny…" he said, stopping in front of Crona, "You look a lot like him. Crona correct? It's been a while. I always knew the Light ran strong in your family."

Crona bristled at the sound of her name, "So you're Guardians?"

"Were*" The Hunter corrected.

"As for my name? You can call me Gluttony. The Hunter is Lust. And the Titan's name is Wrath. Since you reacted how you did when you saw our faces, I assume you know we're Heralds."

Asura's arm started shaking.

"To answer your probable questions, you are the Gate. Just like the Traveler can jump through space and time, so can the Darkness. But unlike the Traveler, the Darkness must be ushered in." Gluttony pointed at Aro, "That's where you come in. You're going to help us open the door way and bring the Darkness here. Speed up an inevitable Armageddon that should have occurred a long time ago. Our job is to keep you safe until the correct time. As well as eliminate anyone who stands in our way."

"Like Rasputin? You were at the Skywatch?" Crona asked.

"Yes and yes, we can command the armies of the Darkness. Fallen, Hive, Vex, Cabal as well as monstrosities you've never seen before. Your friend, Arochukwu here, has been dreaming about them."

Aro involuntarily shuddered at the thought. There were things worst than the Fallen out there.

"What did you mean you were protecting me?"

Lust began laughing, "You think that Baron's shield just magically dropped? You think the Walker's cannon just happened to miss? Wrath here grabbed and moved the cannon just before it could fire as well as shoved Prime into the wall. The Fallen that tried to kill you? Gluttony.

"You?"

"That crack you shoved that mediocre excuse of a Nova Bomb was me. You're welcome."

"Why? Why are you doing all this?!" Crona demanded.

"We don't have much of a choice actually…" Gluttony was cut off by Asura, who let a feral roar to the surprise of everyone. He took his knife from his belt and charged at Gluttony. He neared the Herald only to be violently knocked back again. Asura flew backwards through the air, hitting and sliding against the ground before flipping off of his back and using his hands to stop sliding. He prepared to charge again but was stopped by flaming gun in his face. The Titan, Wrath's body was covered in an Arc blue aura. Too fast for anyone to see, he had knocked Asura back with a simple elbow to the chest. But at that speed, it was a surprise Asura's chest wasn't caved in. Lust had moved to deter any further attacks, a sick grin on his face. Gluttony looked bored with it all, having no reaction to almost being stabbed.

"Are you finished?" Lust asked, moving the fiery gun closer to Asura's head. Asura simply glowered in return but did not move.

"Doesn't matter. We're done here." Gluttony waved his hand, prompting Lust to stand down. He then moved closer to Aro, looking him in the eye. "Go home Arochukwu and remember exactly who you owe your life to. You wouldn't have even made it to the Walker without us. We'll come get you when the time is right but for right now, try to keep out of trouble." He patted Aro's cheek before disappearing in a blink of black smoke. Wrath and Lust followed suit, leaving the Devil's Lair quiet.

Aro, stunned, dropped backwards towards the ground and planted himself down. Just staring at the ground. Rasputin used them as bait? So he was never meant to be killed…

"Aro are you ok?" Asura asked, his normal voice back.

"Are you? What the hell was that? Why did you attack him?!" Aro exploded.

Asura looked away, saying nothing.

Aro thought about it, "Was that even you?" Still no response.

"Asura…" Crona started.

"Let's just…go home. I'll explain everything when we're giving our report."

"…Alright. Sol, let's get out of here." Crona disappeared. With a look at Aro, Asura silently followed.

Aro stayed sitting a bit longer, letting the wind blow and cool down his face. "We better move." Kain finally said, "Before the Fallen try to come back."

"Let's go then."

* * *

It was a few hours trip back to the City. But Aro couldn't bring himself to sleep. He doubted the others could either. The Traveler soon came into view as well as the rest of the City and the Tower. The ships docked and the Aro met the others on the ground. Holliday, examining a large computer screen, looked up to see Aro, Crona and Asura walking past. She put her thumbs up as if asking if they were successful. Aro flashed a tired but toothy grin and returned the thumbs up.

After leaving the Hangar, the walk down to the Vanguard Hall was long and silent; everyone to tired to even talk.

Crona opened the door first only to be greeted by a bear hug by Zavala. Despite her exhaustion, she laughed, almost squealed like a young girl. The others laughed as well.

The Speaker was there with them, "As Commander Zavala has demonstrated, we are all happy to hear of your success. I'm sure everyone is very tired so let's get this over with. Aro, as leader, it's your main responsibility."

"Yes sir." And with that Aro started. He described the fight at the Refinery. The Fallen Baron. The Walker and finally Sepiks Prime and its defeat. As he should have done a while ago, Aro told them about his dreams and what he knew about the Gate and the Heralds.

"Gluttony, Lust and Wrath?" The Speaker asked.

"Yes sir. We even have images of their faces." With that, Kain connected to the computer and projected the faces onto the screen.

The Vanguard's and the Speaker's reactions were…unexpected. Ikora's eyes popped open, Zavala's jaw slightly dropped and Cayde stood up, nearly knocking over his chair.

"Uh do you all know these three? They knew you apparently."

"Yes we do but…all three of these Guardians are dead." Ikora said.

"Not anymore apparently." Cayde added in.

"What about their names?" Asura asked, speaking up for the first time in a while.

No one said anything until the Speaker answered, "Gluttony is Toland, a Rank IV Warlock that died in the Hellmouth against Crota. Lust is Dredgen Yor, a Rank IV Hunter who was driven insane by his thirst for power and killed several people, before being killed by a Hunter named Shin Malphur. The last one, Wrath, is Kabr who was confirmed to have died in the Vault of Glass on Venus."

Asura spoke up again, "There's also another thing…"he then told them about his other personality, it's name and how it has routinely taken over his body as well as the visions it sets off.

"He also told me that "Our sins invite the Darkness." These Heralds are the sins?"

"Yes they are." Ikora answered, "Gluttony, Lust and Wrath are three of the seven deadly sins. The deadly sins aren't unique to Earth and humanity. Even the Fallen and the Cabal have shown some knowledge of them, in their own ways at least."

"If there's a Wrath, Gluttony and Lust then it's safe to assume there is also an Envy, a Sloth, a Greed and a Pride. All who were former Guardians." Zavala pointed out.

No one said anything after that. The Speaker noticed that Asura was staring at the ground. He placed a hand on his shoulder, "We'll figure all this out. Don't worry. You're safe here with us."

"For the meantime, keep your eyes open for them in the field. This Herald, Wrath, was able to shove a several ton Servitor into a wall. They're obviously much stronger than before. Is that everything?" Zavala asked

Aro confirmed that it was. "Then you're welcome to the next week off. Get some rest and we're all glad to have you back. Well done everyone. And Crona…call your mother."

She smiled, slightly embarrassed, "Yes sir."

The three left the busy hall and talked for sometime. They stopped at the area where they would split off and head to their own dorms. After a few seconds, they said their goodbyes and split off.

Before Crona got too far, Asura turned around and said, "I bet you're glad you signed on to our team now!"

Crona laughed again at his sarcasm and waved before disappearing into her room. Aro and Asura did the same. Entering the dorm, the familiar mess brought the utmost comfort to the Guardians. With a pat to Aro's back, Asura disappeared into his bedroom. Aro quietly did the same. He crept closer to the the bed before falling face first, practically fainting from exhaustion.

* * *

Aro eyes rushed open and he panicked before remembering where he was.

Prime was dead. Asura and Crona were safe.

He was home.

He stretched in his bed but did not get up. Kain flew by his face, "Nightmares?"

He thought about it and realized, "No. None."

"Strange… but let's not get hopeful."

Aro sighed, "Agreed. How long have I been asleep?" He took off the covers…and put them back. "And where are my clothes?"

"24 hours and in the bathroom."

"Could you start telling me before you strip me naked?" Aro asked as he moved for the bathroom.

"Does that include waking you up?"

Aro closed the door, thought about Kain's response and said, "You know what? Never mind."

Aro showered, cleaned up and got dressed. He left his own room and the apartment quietly, allowing Asura to get more rest. The Tower was busy today. People were actively walking back and forth, both Tower workers and Guardians. He quietly made his way to the top of the Tower, where ships and transports flew at eye level. It was just as busy, people walking back and forth. Off to the side, Rahool was examining a large golden engram while talking to an Exo Titan. Banshee was examining a young blonde Guardian's weapons. She paid little attention to him, mostly interested in the Tower and the Traveler. A newcomer who was as wide eyed as he was when he first got here. He was still pretty wide eyed.

Away from the throng of people, Aro leaned on the ledge of the Tower overlooking the City, which was even busier than the Tower. For the first time in a long time, he felt at peace. But with everything that had happened, he knew it wouldn't last. Everything he suspected was true. The Darkness is planning a return and he was central to its comeback. The information the Vanguard and Asura's other personality, this Wrath character, had told him about the seven Heralds helped a little. "Your sins invite the Darkness." and the three Heralds they had met were named after three of the deadly sins, according to Ikora.

Gluttony, Lust and a 2nd Wrath. Or Toland, Dredgen Yor and Kabr. Guardians who should all be dead. Their names and the number of them have clues to who the others were. Who they were as Heralds at least but not who they were before. If the others were even half as powerful as these three, then Aro would have a pretty difficult fight ahead of him.

But what disturbed Aro the most was Wrath. Or Wraths. Both Asura and Kabr. So many questions that he was afraid to get an answer to. Who exactly was Asura…before he was Asura?

A firm clap on his back brought him out of his dark thoughts. Erek leaned on the rail next to him, "Daniel's right. You do think too much."

Aro rolled his eyes but a small smile crept on to his usually stoic face.

Erek said nothing further. Just watched the City along with him. In a soft voice, he said, "You now have an idea of the kind of monsters out there. I'm glad you guys are home but from what I heard, you all got extremely lucky. Multiple times in fact."

_"I guess no one's told him about the Heralds." _Kain whispered inside his head.

_"Safe to assume Kayla and Daniel don't know either…"_

"No matter how simple the mission seems, there's always a chance you don't come back. So a lot of Guardians, act like you do. Just watch the City. Remind themselves what it's for. Even the seasoned ones still do it." he started to laugh, "It's the only way to get Shino to shut up for more than a few seconds…you've met Shino right?"

Aro laughed along with him, "Yeah I've met him."

Erek sobered up quickly, "You guys came pretty close to death multiple times. So take your time and get readjusted. It gets a bit easier. Trust me, I know how you feel.

"The Skywatch?"

"Yeah the Skywatch but that wasn't the closest I've come to death. It was actually before I became a Guardian. Just about 4 years ago." He was silent again, his eyes stormy with thoughts and his usual grin replaced by a frown. But only for a second before his smile came back, "But I'll tell you guys that later. I actually came to get you. Maya's birthday is a bit of an all day event so we're all heading out now. Asura and Crona were invited as well. Shino, May and Mira just invited themselves along."

Aro had almost forgot, "Alright then." Lead the way."

"Ah! Before we do…" Erek stopped him, "I was told you made a promise that you would talk like Zavala for the next week. Didn't even know you could do that…"

"Asura told you?"

"Even showed me a recording."

Aro's head dropped and looked at his feet for a while, feeling himself relax and letting the fear and the confusion leave his body. It'd be back. He could count on it. But not right now. As dark as his future looked, he would enjoy the now. Things were going to get crazier from here on out.

"_Alright then._" He repeated in Zavala's tone, "_Let's go._"

Erek laughed, "That is so creepy."

* * *

_That's it for House of Devils __folks. This was my very first attempt at a story and I'm really glad so many people liked it. _

_I do hope to make Book 2 better; draw it out a bit more. But be warned, I do plan to make the stories a bit more mature. Be on the lookout for "__**Beast of the Void"**_

_The closing theme for House of Devils is __**"Papermoon"**__ by Tommy Heavenly_


	29. Finale HOD

Part 2 is up! House of Devils will no longer be updated.

s/11350237/1/Destiny-II-Beast-of-the-Void


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